Would You Hold It Against Me?
by OMGitsToralee
Summary: Aspen Redfern is one of the most notorious human haters in the Nightworld. But what happens when she is sentenced to be watched by Circle Daybreak, and a certain Old Soul catches her attention? When she finds herself in the presence of her enemy? HughxOC
1. Mistaken

Aspen Zylphia Redfern (_as-pin zil-fi-uh red-furn_)

**Age:** 17

**Gender:** Female

**Race:** Lamia

**Play-by:** Elisabeth Harnois

"Let me _go_, you filthy mutt! Do you _know_ who in the hell I am?" Aspen screeched, struggling viciously in the werewolf's strong grasp. She didn't like how this was going, obviously. It infuriated her more than anything; being in a werewolf's – a _mutt's_ – embrace that was, indeed, restraining her with a _sack_ on her head. She wasn't used to not being able to see her surroundings; it was irritating her immensely. But, she couldn't think of how to get herself out of it at the moment. Aspen couldn't send a wave of Power at her keeper because she couldn't _see_.

She knew, that when she got the sack off of her head and the wolf unhanded her, that she would kill him. It would be inevitable when her anger was this concentrated on something, and at the magnitude it was. And she didn't even know where she was _going_.

That just made matters worse for the werewolf and herself.

Hisses and snarls came from her as she fought in the werewolf's arms. Though, by now, she knew it was useless. Aspen couldn't escape: the werewolf was too strong.

Whoever hired the thing obviously knew what they were doing. And they had to know this particular Redfern well enough to know that she would put up a good fight. That she – Aspen Redfern - wouldn't go anywhere unwillingly without kicking and screaming the whole way to get her freedom back. She was a _true_ Redfern; purer than any other she knew. She was descended directly from Red Fern, the son of Maya. She even had the shifting eyes, for goodness sakes! And right now, the eyes were filled with anger and were the color of what the young Redfern _knew_ was a dark, blood colored red.

Smoldering in their sockets, to scare off anyone who looked directly into them. Except – of course – most of those who were related to her and also the ones who were used to it. But, she immediately started thinking of the others and shook her head.

'_Gotta clear my thoughts if I'm going to think of a way to get out of this,_' She thought, and stopped struggling for a moment to think of strategy for once. The werewolf sighed in relief, and tried to cover it up with a cough.

Though she couldn't be seen, Aspen smirked.

'_That's right, Fido. Relax; don't suspect a thing from a 17 year old girl would and could, as well as **will** eventually__ rip your head off._' She thought, and it was hard not to let out a laugh. The idiot that was holding her was obviously not very bright; only useful for the muscle he possessed, was her bet. It provided _her_ with an advantage, in a way. Sure, muscle and strength was a good – a _great _thing to have. But, when you had the strength mixed with the strategic mind and a lot of pinpointed, _experienced_ knowledge…

You had her: Aspen Zylphia Redfern.

'_He is so idiotic that it's sickening to even attempt to make his stupidity humorous as Ash would right now,_' She thought and her smirk softened into a soft smile. She quiet enjoyed Ash's company, and they were the best team when together. And by best team, of course she meant the most dangerous team.

A feeling of loneliness swept over her and she lost her concentration for the moment.

Aspen was feeling very…depressed now. She missed Ash desperately; he was the only one she really felt _honored_ to call her family; to be related to him was something…something that she couldn't restrain her depth of emotion for.

It was then that she realized that she was inside a building now.

Using her enhanced senses, she took a deep breath. She smelt…dust. And also…was that metal that she smelt? Chrome…and steel, was what it smelt like. With the scent of something else that she somewhat recognized…somewhat didn't. It confused her, and she chewed on her lower lip.

The werewolf had relaxed his hold on her, since she hadn't been struggling for what she realized had been quite a while now. How long had she been going with the mutt willingly – or at least stopped frustrating him with her kicks and screeches? Aspen wasn't sure…but it had been at _least_ a half an hour. And, there she had been, thinking of things that were meaningless, or at least not very significant for her at the current moment. Her situation was much more troublesome and important than her family…who was _probably_ – she couldn't be sure – worrying about her right now. Or not, considering she was known for the same thing as Ash: to be gone days at a time. Sometimes longer than a mere week, even. It really depended on **what** she was distracting or amusing herself in some way with.

And here she was, getting off track of what _really_ should be worrying her at the moment, and by now she could've escaped the grasp of the werewolf and actually been out of the odd building that she was now in.

A cold chill ran down her spine when she found that she could now smell the essence of…wood. A very, very, _very_ strong smell of wood. It was the mixture of cedar, pine, teak, rowan, and white ash. Even – possibly – lignum vitae; there was a hint of the odor drifting. Aspen shivered, and the werewolf chuckled. "That's right girly; you act out anymore and that wood will kill you. Or maybe slow torture…I'm sure you'd like that, wouldn't you?" He said, and she could tell that he was leaning down to speak directly where her ear was. It _really_ pissed her off.

She wasn't a 'girly': Aspen Redfern was this werewolf's worst nightmare.

"And…what if I don't act out and be…a _good_ girl?" She purred, a seductive edge to her voice as she relaxed her formerly tense form more so. The wolf was an idiot; and her tone implied sex or something like that. Which, obviously, she would never do with some wolf who didn't have enough sense to realize what she was doing. "Sorry honey. But, that isn't going to win my affection here. Now, under any other circumstances –"

She slipped her arm loose and slammed her elbow into his ribs.

He yelled out in pain, but she knew it wouldn't matter to him in a mere second. This was Aspen's chance; she could possibly survive if she didn't back off. But…then again…she didn't plan to. She was getting out of here – away from the _mutt_ – as soon as possible. And, if she didn't succeed, she'd rather die honorably knowing that she had fought as hard as she could.

Aspen immediately stomped on his foot, and heard a few little snaps. The wolf howled in pain and fury and she moved smoothly away from him, taking the sack off of her head as she did so. Her golden hair – in it's natural wavy, ringlets – fell past her shoulders and rested just above the top of her shoulder blades. Her ever-changing eyes were now a light gold, with a silverish tint as every shade did. It was the only odd thing about her eyes – the silverish tint. But did that matter to her? No, it did not. It only made her beauty more pronounced when her victims and the foolish males looked in her eyes. And she was hoping that if she managed to catch the gaze of this idiotic werewolf, who was only now gathering himself, he would – too – fall for her hypnotic gaze.

A smirk came to her lips, and she took a few, smooth steps to the right in a circling notion. "Oh, I'm so sorry. Did I hurt you?" She said, her voice having a light touch to it that almost seemed believable. Her eyes were now a rich magenta, and the silverish tint wavered on in her gaze. Her smirk turned to a pleased smile as he looked at her, in her _eyes_, and a look of awe came to his somewhat handsome features.

Teasing – naturally flirty – laughs bubbled up from her lips and she knew that the unwise wolf was thinking that it was like the sound of pleasant bells; of music, almost. She was a seductress, first and foremost. It was very odd for a male _not _to be entranced by her; even her relative, Ash, had admitted that she was beautiful truthfully. And he was a hard one to please, and usually lied.

She was different, Aspen was. She knew that. She _loved_ that.

The wolf gulped, clearing his throat before lowering himself into what resembled a fighting stance. She rolled her eyes, and twirled a strand of hair around her finger loosely as her other hand rested lightly on her hip. "Go ahead; see if you can stand against me. I'd love to see you _try_." She said, her voice challenging yet light and careless. It was just how she was, and this wolf didn't bother her. He had fallen for her eyes; he was as good as dead at the moment. It was the cycle of the world, with her pretty damn close to the center of the world. This is how the end would happen when someone faced her: how he or she got just so entranced by her and just…let go. They didn't seem to care about how they were going to die when going against her, only just to merely focus on _her_ and not hurting her. Aspen didn't really know why that was; she was visibly dangerous to anyone who knew of the Night World. Her eyes…her posture…it was just so _out_ there. And now, this wolf was going to lose his life most likely.

Shame; he could possibly help her sometime when she needed it. But, what had to be done had to be done. And sometimes, the things that people were to do were hard to get pass.

And that's when something hard came in contact with the back of her head – '_Wood,_' she thought vaguely – before everything went dark.

Everything was hazy as she opened her eyes lazily, and she blinked a few times as things around her came back into focus. Aspen couldn't find it in herself to sit up, for she knew that the awaiting pain would almost be unbearable. There was a dull ache in her head, but it was slowly fading away as the things around her became more defined.

A…large hall. Almost a banquet hall was what she was in. And there were high tables with figures that she had yet to make out. There was a strong scent of wood around her, and that was when she noticed that there were little…cuffs or something binding her to the floor.

And _that_ was when she noticed that she wasn't on the floor.

She was on a table; a wooden table. The cuffs, she knew already, were made of wood. Her feet were held down by similar restraints, with both cuffs _and_ ropes made of…the cores of trees. She didn't go into specifics on the details of what kind of wood it was that was binding her, for one of the high figures spoke.

"Aspen Zylphia Redfern, you are here for a charge of breaking Nightworld Law; breaking boundaries for hunting territory lines. There is a charge that you have killed 23 mortals," the person said the word with distaste, "within the last 2 weeks, in areas that belongs to a clan of shape shifters, the First House, to be more direct about the urgency of the matter; an area that was under the protection and restraint of hunting of the Harman witches; and lastly, an area that was under control of Lord Thierry Descouedres. Do you, or do you not know of the boundaries that exist –" She started laughing, not in the least hysterical, and the room went silent at the sound of bells. "Don't dare ask me such idiotic questions. I'd expect better if you were really going to punish me for what I joyfully did of my own accord." She said, her voice mocking as she opened her eyes fully and turned them to where the being that had been speaking sat.

It was a man she recognized, and she let another laugh out of her throat as she shook her head. Her golden hair – already spread over the table where she was – spread more so and she felt a bit of static in the mass as she settled herself.

The man, or the vampire – rather, was terrified even more so at her manner. It was pathetic, really, in Aspen's mind. She'd seen human children be braver than this worthless being was right now. She honestly didn't see how he was someone high up; which he obviously was if he was the one reading out her supposed 'crimes'. Vermin…what was the point of caring about them when they killed her own people everyday?

The Nightworld was going soft, she thought. Because of so many people falling in love – the _soulmate_ principle – with the disgraces, now they had to be _sympathetic_. It wasn't the way things should be; they should be hard on them. They should kill the vermin before they gain any more power than they already have.

She had loved someone…then _the Cat_ killed him. And whoop-dee-doo, guess what happened next? Quinn fell for her: the soulmate principle apparently. So, that would just make getting rid of the vermin even more difficult since she had a vampire madly in love with her protecting her. But not even _Quinn_ was going to get in the way of her revenge on the bitch…she had no idea what was coming for her. Quinn _should_ be scared of Aspen; he blinds himself with the thoughts that he wasn't. She has seen his mind over and over, and the fear was there. Just in a place far, far away where he tries to forget about it.

When she came for his little vermin girlfriend, she wasn't going to let him feel anything _**but**_ fear.

"…Sentenced to death, or –" A snort came from Aspen and it went silent again. "I'm not afraid of Death, you worthless being. I _am_ Death; and I guarantee that killing me or even torturing me wouldn't put any fear into my mind for you or anything and _anyone_ else. The only thing I could possibly even have the smallest bit of fear of – or both that and revulsion – would be if you made me go live with vermin. Of course, how you would be able to arrange that is beyond me. I'd probably kill them unless, of course, they were from Circle Daybreak and knew how to kill me!" She said, rolling her eyes.

"But Circle Daybreak would never cooperate, I know that much. So, will you see that there is no possible way to tame me?" She said, raised an eyebrow at the leaders and they were just staring at her. No fear; no nothing. Only a calculating look and that was when she realized what trouble she was in.

And this would surely scar her for life.


	2. Surprises, Surprises

She hated this…she hated this…she _hated_ this.

Aspen was now, in the back of a truck, with regular, steel chains binding her to the wall as she huffed impatiently. There were two guards, one of them the werewolf who had taken her captive when he had been taking her to the Council. Where she was sentenced…_and now being taken to the Circle Daybreak headquarters_!

'_I'm going to kill you,_' she thought viciously as she seethed, '_I'm going to kill __**all**__ of you._'

Her eyes were an opaque color: a shiny black. The shininess was only because of the always-present silver tint in her eyes. Otherwise, her eyes would be completely black. As they shifted to a bloody red, she felt the van start slowing a bit.

A low hiss escaped her teeth and the werewolf from before snarled, and put a wooden knife at her throat. Her eyes narrowed and she remained quiet.

He relaxed and took the knife away from her throat. A sigh came from her as she leaned her head back against the interior walls of the van. She closed her eyes, and then pulled her head forward to hit it against the wall again. Aspen didn't know what had gone wrong for her; she hadn't meant to say what the only thing that could ever frighten her was. She didn't think or rather _hadn't_ thought that it would've been able to be done. But, then again, Circle Daybreak would help any vampire reform. It's just a chance for them to attempt to brainwash her, turn her 'good.

She thought she was good as she was right now. It was perfectly fine; she was the role model Night Person. She hated vermin; she was power hungry; she didn't really have any cares for anyone but herself. And yet, she didn't see what was wrong with any of that. Her father had taught her all of that…

'"_Child, if you ever plan on succeeding in this life, as a Redfern vampire in the Nightworld, there are a few things that you will need to know. And if you follow anything different, you are considered a traitor." Her father said, his ever-changing eyes looking into 4-year-old Aspen's intensely. The young girl nodded, her eyes filled with interest as she looked at her father with her changing eyes. They were a light blue and turned to a rich violet. "Yes daddy." She said, her voice sounding sweet._

_Yet, her father did not know that soon, his advice would turn his supposedly innocent daughter into a demon; a monster. To never care for anyone but herself and later one being other than her…_

"_The very first thing that you need to know is that you hate mortals; they are worth nothing and can do nothing more than be a good meal. Killing them is a priority, and something that I'd have to say that you will always enjoy." He said, his voice light yet commanding._

_The little, blond haired child nodded quickly, and was anxious to hear more._

"_The second thing you need to know, dear little Aspen, is that no one can push you around. __**You**__ are a Redfern; you are practically royalty. And never let anyone or anything tell you different, child." Her father said softly, and she smiled._

"_Never, daddy. I guarantee it. Redferns are the best and the highest you could ever be. I know that much; no one can ever be better." She said, giggling a bit to herself. She believed that, and she honestly didn't see anything different. Little Aspen didn't _want_ to know anything different than that. It was the most important and basic thing in her life. She would never let anyone bring her down._

_Her father patted her head, almost as if she was a complying animal. A pet._

_She was more than happy to be so if she were to earn this affection from her father._

_He concentrated on her gaze, his evergreen eyes looking into hers with fury burning underneath the triumph in his gaze. "Now, do you want to know the very last thing that is vital to your survival?" He said, his voice almost a croon. She nodded enthusiastically, and her eyes turned from the turquoise that they had been of the second to a sunflower yellow. They glinted with silver, and when she blinked the silver became more illuminated at this onslaught of information from her father._

"_You are the highest power there is; you are the purest of all. You control everyone, and they cannot belittle you. Do you understand that, sweetheart?" He said, a smile growing on his lips._

"_What else am I to understand other than that, daddy?"_'

"C'mon girly, let's go."

The voice of the werewolf dragged her away from what was the closest thing to a happy memory that she had. Almost like a puppet, she let the werewolf come close to her and take the chains off of her wrists. Then, as soon as the chains were off, she felt vine cords being wrapped around her wrists tightly, cutting into her skin. She clenched her teeth; not opening her still closed eyes, and just let the wolf lead her out of the van and into the dim daylight.

It was somewhere around 7 o'clock in the evening, with faint light still shining in the direction of the sun that had yet to set completely behind the horizon. It was cloudy, which was a detail Aspen hadn't realized until now. It comforted her in the slightest, and then she realized what situation she was in and that took away any sense of comfort or serenity that had been in her. The cords around her wrist were irritating her skin, and she honestly didn't care anymore.

She was going to Circle Daybreak against her will, to be _reformed_. Nothing mattered. She'd rather kill herself right now.

If only she could get that knife from the wolf…

"Is this the person who we're taking in?" A voice came, reluctant, and it sounded way too familiar for Aspen to be comfortable with it. Her eyes opened, the color of lavender, and she saw the all too familiar form of John Quinn. She hated him and craved having the wooden knife in her hands so she could kill _him_…and then herself.

Before the werewolves were able to speak to him, she spoke. "Obviously. Who else would be tied up by cords, Quinn?" She said, her voice harsh and mocking as she looked at him pointedly.

He looked at her, his eyes dark as they always would be, and narrowed his eyes. Then, he shook his head as he sighed heavily. It was a reluctant, tired sigh. "You know, Aspen. I'm not surprised that you ended up like this. Actually, I was expecting it sooner. But why would they give you over to Circle Daybreak instead of killing you?" He said, his tone sounding puzzled and she huffed. "Because, they intend to put fear in me. Or fear of some sort. Of course, _you_ know how difficult that it, don't you?" She snarled, and for a moment she sensed an almost non-existent bit of fear from Quinn's mind but it easily dissipated.

"Of course, Aspen." He muttered, a touch of sarcasm in his voice, and she hissed ferally.

"Okay then." One of Aspen's captors said loudly, breaking up the tense moment.

"Anyways, you know where you're taking her, right?" The other said gruffly, and Aspen zoned out as she just stared at the ground. It was a blur up until the werewolves handed her off to Quinn. A growl built up in her chest but she restrained it. It wouldn't do anything; or at least not anymore. She was sure that nothing would detour her trip to hell.

She would fight when she got there, though. She knew that. Wherever the headquarters was – she didn't feel like pondering at the moment – she knew that it must be in a major city. So, it should be easy for her to 'get lost' in those parts. The only problem was that she had to think of a place that she could go when she got out of the place.

Her older sister's? But she wasn't sure that Jessamine would house her for long; she wasn't very fond of Aspen. It was no surprise, but she still had a feeling that she could possibly rely on her sister. Her sister did owe her for when Aspen had helped her save her soulmate. A human; but since then she hadn't found the time to go and see how her sister was doing. Of course, Aspen wasn't too fond of the human and would rather _kill_ him, but Jessamine was her sister…and there wasn't any other choice but to support her with her decisions.

Even if they were disgusting.

As Quinn guided her to the car he had driven – a van quite similar to the one she had arrived in – she heard the sound of the other van backing out and it's tires squealing as the wolves sped away from where they had left their prisoner.

'_Such good guards_,' She thought distastefully as she was guided into the back of the van. She was sitting, and quickly scooted to the closest wall as she observed her surroundings. There was a vent that was bolted into securely and she could see the headrests of the two front seats of the van. It was cheap fabric, but sturdy enough to last a while. She knew that much. And, apparently she wouldn't be able to get her hands on Quinn to strangle him or take control of the car. But, if she managed to open the back doors of the van when they were moving, there was a possibility she could escape. But even Aspen doubted that she'd make it out of this one. There really wasn't any way she could escape. It was a sickening, depressing feeling. She felt no reason to really try anymore; to try anything at all, really. She knew she wouldn't succeed.

But that didn't mean that she couldn't stop planning.

'_What do I have to plan, though? My escape? As if. They won't let me out of their sight._' She thought, closing her eyes as she leaned her head back against the metal wall. Aspen sighed, and turned her head away from the vent, where she could see Quinn starting up the car.

The hum of the motor somehow made this situation even worse than it was already. But it left her to possibly gain some sleep; something that she hadn't experienced for 3 days. Too many things to do, was her excuse. Though, the truth was that she didn't want to be left to her nightmares as it had always been.

Her mother being killed right in front of her...

It wasn't very pleasant seeing that terrible, agonizing memory over and over. It made her feel even worse than she always did.

A deep breath was what she took, and another after that. This van almost made her feel claustrophobic. She only had about half her sense and consciousness left, and it was wasting away as she merely sat in the back of the metal van. It was sickening in her mind, and it made her want to curl up and die.

But, considering she had a sick sense of humor, a small laugh came from her as she progressed on to imagine sick, terrible ways of dying in her mind. It was amusing to imagine things, especially when she had seen most ways with her own eyes. Having inflicted the torture upon mortals, of course. The same principles still applied; she just needed to replace the knives that were made of metal with knives and other little torture toys with wood. Simple as that. But, there were no guarantees that _she'd_ be able to inflict the pain upon herself. It might be difficult.

Who knows; she might give it a go for the sake of her curiosity.

"What're you _snickering_ about?" Quinn asked, slightly irritable, and she shook her head with her eyes closed. A smile appeared - grim, but still a smile - on her lips. An almost breathless laugh came from her but she quickly silenced it. "Nothing, Quinn. Nothing at all." She said, slight sarcasm in her voice as she yawned boredly. Annoying the hell out of Quinn might pass the time, but she didn't know if it was pushing her luck. But, she can't really judge on whether or not she'd be _able_ to push her luck; she didn't know if she had anything to push. You can't lose what you don't have. Though, if she mattered at all to Quinn - which she was sure she did, since he hated her so much - she might be able to possibly push him over the edge. It was an oddly interesting thought, but she found herself compelled to go to sleep.

That didn't mean she _wanted_ to go to sleep. If she's held it off this long - 3 days - then she was pretty sure that she could hold off the exhaustion for a little longer. It really wouldn't make much of a difference.

But...she wanted...she _needed_...she needed to sleep.

Her thoughts when incoherent as she drifted into a cold - unnaturally cold - darkness.

**Hugh**

He sat down in one of the various couches. Leaning his head back, he closed his eyes to relax.

'_More vampire killings...more tiring than I can remember._' He thought, and yawned vaguely. There was weight that sat down next to him, about a yard or so away from him. It was easy to recognize who it was when the person sighed, and he felt them shift to turn to him. "Hard day, isn't it?" Jez's voice came, and he shrugged a bit before yawning again. "It seems to get harder every time." Hugh said, his voice quiet. A small, grim laugh sounded from his friend and he opened his eyes.

"Not really, Hugh. It's either they die or you do, and I think we both know which side needs to win this war, don't you?" She said, and he frowned. "Ya Jez; I know. I think everyone does. Even _regular_ humans can probably tell that at least something is wrong. But they just don't know exactly _what_ it is. It's just...killing others, even though they aren't in the best state of mind, but just thinking of the possibilities of turning them around..." Hugh said quietly, his voice sounding his exhaustion. He heard Jez huff, a little bit annoyed, but she seemed to brush it off. He felt a bit of relief at that, but just yawned again. "You have a point but I think we might be able to talk later. You look really tired...was it really that bad today?" She said, and he heard the hint of concern in her voice. He shrugged, and opened his eyes to look at her. "Seems like it." He said, and frowned deeply. Now, it wasn't that he had a lot of issues with killing Night People, but there really _was_ the thought that someone could possibly help them...turn them around, shine the light in their eyes.

A chuckle came from his lips and Jez raised an eyebrow at him. "Sorry, I'm just so tired I'm laughing at something stupid." He said, smiling a little. "Like?" She asked, and there was now curiosity replacing the concern in her tone. He chuckled softly again and rolled his eyes. "Thinking about possibly shining the light in their eyes. When really, if we tried to do that in reality, they would be really angry." He said, and she rolled her eyes.

Patting his shoulder lightly, Jez rose. "Just try to nap, Hugh. We have a prisoner from the Nightworld - the Council made a deal with us - and we'll really be needing to be on our guard. If the Council was having enough issues to pass the delinquent off to us without arresting or ambushing any of us in the act, then we must have a problem here." She said, and he nodded slightly. As he closed his eyes again, Hugh just let his mind drift until the sensation of losing consciousness - that he never had gotten annoyed with; how or why would he? - overcame him.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been asleep, but he was sure that it had been at least 4 hours or something when he awoke to Jez shaking his shoulder.

It was darker outside, and he looked around at the seemingly bright lights in the grandly decorated living room of Lord Thierry, and his gray eyes rested on a grandfather clock in the far-off corner. It read...11:11. So, it obviously wasn't too late, or at least as late as he thought it would be. He could survive, not that it really mattered to him.

As long as the prisoner - using Jez's term for the person - got in safely and they didn't have any problems, Hugh would be happy and content. The people around him he cared about, so as long as they were alright, he would be as well.

He finally arose, and Jez immediately took off toward the front door of the large house without a word to him. He didn't find it offensive or rude; it was procedure. They needed to get as many people on the person to make sure that there weren't any casualties in the short time of moving the person. '_Jez would probably be a bit mad that I considered the 'prisoner' a person,_' He thought vaguely, but nevertheless continued after Jez to the door. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Morgead and Ash start for the door as well, and that was when Hugh was through the threshold into the cold night air.

The moonlight illuminated everything.

He saw the others at the van, but there seemed to be some confusion. Rashel was there, and she seemed stricken and Quinn was just a little bit annoyed. Jez was in the back of the van - he saw her vaguely - and then there was Maggie who was crouching nearby Jez in the back of the van, looking down at something.

'_Or **someone**,_' a distant voice in the back of his head noted and he continued on toward the van.

That was when he was able to hear the tones of everyone speaking of the same, tense conversation that they all seemed to be stressed about.

"...sometime along the way. I'm pretty sure that it was pretty soon after I got her from the guards, but I'm not sure. And now she just won't wake up." Quinn was explaining, and someone groaned impatiently. "What have you tried?" The person asked, and he realized that it was Maggie, who was now peeking out of the back of the van impatiently. He saw Quinn shrug, and then grimace. "A lot, but nothing will wake her up. The one thing I _haven't_ tried is blood. It's dangerous; I know her and if she is somehow _faking_ this, you might as well be dead if you give her blood." Quinn said, his voice a little bit annoyed but reserved.

A quiet voice came from the van.

"Quinn...she isn't faking this."

It was Gillian Lennox.

It was a surprise to hear her, but at the same time it wasn't. Gillian was a witch, of course she would be there if there was any chance of having disaster. Or the possibility that there was someone injured or ill in some way. She's probably been trying to awaken the prisoner, who Hugh had yet to see, with her magic. That wasn't something that he could see with his own eyes - at the moment - but it was just something automatic to assume. By now, he was standing close to the back of the van where it was opened, but something was tempting him to move closer and see who the person was.

Hugh was curious, but he wasn't _that_ curious.

But there was still that feeling...that there was some longing for peeking in the back of the van at the person.

"How do you know?" Quinn asked, exasperated and a small sigh came from inside the van. It was patient, and somewhat sad. He concentrated on the words, feeling that they were important, as Gillian started speaking once more. This time, she was speaking to all of them.

"Because, this isn't just _sleep_ or being merely _unconscious_. There's something wrong with her; some shield in her mind that...it's reflecting everything I try to _do._ It's like a defense mechanism, and I don't think she'll be waking up anytime soon. Not even blood would wake her up, I bet. But, I'd rather not risk it. Anyways, I really think that we should move her inside _right now_. The sooner she wakes up, the more at ease I'll be. Now, can someone help me with her...?" Gillian's voice trailed off and Morgead and David stepped forward as Jez started lifting the person up.

All Hugh was able to see was blond hair that was darkened by the lack of light.

Soon, they were lifting the person up and out of the van.

It was a girl - at the age of 17 or 18, was his guess - and she had blond hair that was long, and it was so wavy it was almost curly. Her features were pallid, even more pale in the moonlight, and the features she bared were soft, and gentle. Innocent looking in this supposedly 'dangerous' case of slumber or unconsciousness. As she was carried, he noticed that there was bast tied around her wrists tightly. He almost winced when he imagined how it would be for her when they took those off; _if_ the did. The bast cords were really close-fitted to the skin on her wrists, and he was more than just _sure_ that the skin there was now raw.

Hugh sighed, and followed the group. There were 4 people carrying her, with Gillian hovering anxiously.

Weird; but not really.

When they got back inside, it was noticeably warmer and that seemed make everyone a little less tense. Except for one person; practically the most _unlikely_ person to really react about this kind of thing.

Ash gulped as everyone put the girl on the couch and shook his head. One word left his lips in a whisper, and it was close to the saddest Hugh had ever heard anyone sound to his ears. And that was saying something since he's had a quite a few lives, and a lot of sadness had been in each.

"Aspen."


	3. Hear Me Out

Mostly third person with the an addition of practically just Ash's POV, but its still Hugh's POV!

By the way, thank you to the people who reviewed my story! Makes me happyful. So, thankies to **Nightgirl25**, **I. Follow. With. Faith.** (sorry, had to put spaces or it wouldn't show up :( ), **Flowers smell good**, and **xXPurpleMidnightXx**

y'all! :D

(btw, I'm sorry if it seems short but this one was kinda hard to write because there were a lot of different plans for this one)

* * *

Hugh was almost shocked, a rare thing, but that was practically the same emotion as everyone else in the room. How could...could this _girl_ - Aspen - just make Ash so...vulnerable. It was one of the oddest things that Hugh could remember seeing from Ash, besides when he came to Circle Daybreak after being rejected and given a time limit on his return by his soulmate: Mary-Lynnette Carter. But this...this was influencing everyone else in the room by just witnessing this crestfallen side of Ash by the mere sight of the girl being unconscious and tied up.

Everyone - Hugh, especially so - was wondering _why_ this had so much of an affect on Ash Redfern.

A grim laugh burst from Ash's lips as he saw everyone staring at him in bewilderment, and he shook his head with his blond hair covering his color-changing eyes for a moment before he looked at the girl. There was almost a disbelieving look that was half angered; half tired.

"Aspen." Ash said, his voice quiet and almost as if the name was cherished.

It was quiet for a moment before someone spoke, and it was James who did at the moment, and it was almost a shocker; until Hugh and everyone else remembered that he - too - was a Redfern.

"I remember Aspen...haven't seen her in years. Since I was...10, I think. Is that about right, Ash? I'm pretty sure that you'd know that better than I do. And, of course, _she_ would," James said, gesturing to the unconscious girl supposedly named Aspen, "but that really isn't an option right now, of course." He said, a dry chuckle coming from him before Ash joined in half-heartedly, if even that. "Ya, last time you saw her was when you were 10, James. She almost made you crash into a pointed, low-hanging branch and got screeched at and punished...brutally, might I add. And then you tried to apologize for telling on her and she almost drowned you in the deep pond at Hunter's residence. I remember very well, because I was the first person she went to after she got chastised and she made me watch - having tied me to a _tree_, with the threat of running me through with a branch - as she pushed you into the pond. I remember." Ash said dully, but there was a slight bit of solemn amusement in his tone that Hugh detected.

"She almost did _what_?" Poppy hissed, glaring angrily at the unconscious form of 'Aspen'. When she started stomping forward, James wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and pulled her to him.

He shushed Poppy when she started complaining, and kissed the top of her head before sighing and looking where Ash sat next to Aspen, on the floor, and who was now playing with one of Aspen's curls.

"I'm surprised she finally got captured by the Council. Do you think she fought? Because, when she wakes up, we'll know whether she'll be weak or n-" Ash interrupted James midsentence. "Oh, she fought. There's a small bump on the back of her head, it's healing still, and her hair has a little bit of dry blood in it. And, since she never lets anyone get behind her - usually - I think she was distracted by someone in front of her. Probably playing her taunting game, if it was a female; trying to 'seduce' her way into killing, if it was a guy." Ash said, and James seemed annoyed for a moment since Ash had interrupted him, but got over it quickly.

"So, she'll be kinda weak when she wakes up...won't she?" Someone spoke softly, and Hugh found that it was Lady Hannah.

Her gray eyes were fixed on the unconscious form of Aspen, and were filled with some repressed concern as she took a few steps forward. Ash grimaced and looked at Aspen's seemingly innocent face that was caused by her lack of awareness. Then, he cleared his throat uneasily. Something even more odd about him at the current moment.

"_If_ she wakes up soon, then ya. If she wakes up later...no, not really."

There was an echo of 'huh's and 'what?'s around the room until Ash got impatient and growled, low in pitch but still highly audible.

"I don't know, okay!" He burst out, exasperated and everyone shut up. He took the advantage and continued speaking, explaining, the condition that Aspen was in.

"It used to happen sometimes when we were younger. I was around her a lot when I was younger; she was practically like my twin sister and is pretty much the female version of _me_. But, sometimes, she'd go into these long states of unconsciousness. It usually happened when she was injured majorly or something traumatic happened to her - like if someone she cared for died or suffered drastic injuries. Heck, even something that scared her! Like, when she was 5, we were messing around playing a really _stupid_ version of 'Truth or Dare' and she fell off a bridge when she was looking over. The whole entire experience terrified her and sometime while she was being taken care of, she went to sleep and didn't wake up for a month and half. When she woke up, she was...not herself. Then, after a while, she was herself again and things continued.

"And again, when she was 8. Her mother was killed by the Council, and Aspen was forced to watch it. This time, she had went up to her room 4 days later and took a nap. Except, _she didn't wake up_. Not until it was the day before her 9th birthday, and that was in January. Her mother was killed in July, so Aspen was asleep for at least...somewhere around 6 months. She looked dead...and she didn't even need to feed when she woke up! And immediately, she was back to her old self as if there was nothing wrong, like she hadn't gone to sleep at all and was going to go and terrorize the animals that were in the forest that she lived by."

It was silent as everyone stared at him, in skepticism on some expressions; in shock in others, one being Hugh. Even a few in horror.

"You have to be _mental_ if you think that we're going to believe that." Quinn said harshly, being one of the skeptics. Ash glared angrily at him, and his jaw was taut.

"Try me, Quinn. You even heard Gillian say that she was in some sort of slumber that not even _she_ was able to awaken Aspen from. Do you _really_ think that Gillian would lie about that?" He said in a cold voice, his color-changing eyes hard as he looked at Quinn.

"Well, we still haven't tried giving her _bl_-" Rashel hit Quinn's shoulder lightly, a silent warning. "Just stop bickering. And Quinn, you know as well as anyone else that giving her _blood_ is the worst thing we could do." She snapped, narrowing her eyes at Quinn for a moment before looking at Ash. "Are you being completely truthful, Ash? Because, I swear, if this is some sick joke, I am going to make a stake specifically for _you_ and stab you so many times that you-" Thierry interrupted _her_. "Rashel, threats aren't going to get us anywhere. And she's right, Quinn. Giving Aspen blood is probably the most idiotic thing that we could try."

It seemed like a massive sigh when through the room, when really everyone was put out and not concealing the fact.

Then, Thierry focused his gaze back on Ash and frowned delicately.

"How long do you think, Ash, it will be before she awakens?" He asked, and it was tense in the room as everyone watched Ash intently. It seemed that the matter of _when_ the girl, Aspen, would wake up was almost a vital thing to Hugh. And yet, he almost didn't want to know at the same time. Both knowing and _not_ knowing seemed equally dangerous in the current moment as he watched Ash more intensely than anyone else in the room. From the corner of his eye, Hugh saw Jez look at him oddly before muttering something to Morgead, who was at her side.

Hugh didn't care, for the moment, and the expression on his features were almost eager.

It was..._weird_ for him. Most of the time he was calm; serene.

Why the change all of the sudden?

Ash carefully scanned everyone's expression, a little bit of surprise stirring in his eyes when he looked at Hugh, before looking back at Thierry and frowning.

"I'd give it a range between a week at the least, and a month at the longest. Maybe under a week, if she's lucky. But, I doubt that." He said slowly, measuring his words as he spoke and Hugh's eyes widened a little before he forced a completely calm expression on his face as Jez, Morgead, and Ash glanced at him in curiosity.

Hugh had been hoping that it would be less than a week for an unknown reason, and he didn't understand it anymore than anyone else would.

Calming himself, he pretended to not mind it. But his mind was racing with different thoughts that he couldn't exactly comprehend because they were going too fast for him to really know any of them. But, after a moment, his head was silent as he frowned a little as he looked at Aspen's unconscious form in desperation for a moment before looking back at Ash. Who was looking at him, almost expectant. The solemn part of Ash was still there, but it was more so the curious Ash now who peered at Hugh. As he studied Ash and Aspen for a moment, he raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Do you think that someone will have to watch her, to be prepared for if she wakes up?" He asked, and Ash seemed to be expecting it. Ash thought for a short moment before grimacing and nodding. "She's dangerous. And I don't think that we all want to be murdered in our sleep; even me, because I joined Circle Daybreak and she thinks of that as the biggest betrayal there is." He said, scrunching his nose in distaste. A lot of people raised their eyebrows at this, but one of the few that remained indifferent was Hugh himself, and the rest were James, Thierry, Hannah, and Quinn. Thierry most likely wasn't surprised by this, Hannah along with him, and James and Quinn probably already knew this most likely because they knew some stuff about Aspen, and it was entirely natural for her to think so.

It was almost sad that she would practically be forced to participate in what she thought was 'the biggest betrayal there is'.

Or at least, in Hugh's mind it was. She - Aspen - was going to be forced into something that she hated, and there wasn't anything she could do different unless there was some way that she escaped from the place and there were a lot of people in this very room that didn't think that would be a possibility for her.

It was quiet in the room for a moment before Lord Thierry looked at Hugh, and a bit of curiosity was in his eyes as he peered at the Old Soul.

"Granted, since _you_ were the one to ask on whether or not she needs constant vigilance, I think it's only fair that you take the first shift for watching her, Hugh. We'll switch your place with someone else somewhere around 6 A.M. Surely, you can last 7 hours watching someone unconscious?" Thierry said, and he raised an eyebrow at him. Hugh nodded a bit, and managed a small smile. "I got a few hours of rest; I'm sure 7 hours won't kill me any sooner than she will." He said, nodding toward the inanimate form of Aspen.

A light chuckle came from Thierry, and he nodded.

"I'm sure, Hugh."

Then, as Thierry began to leave the room with Hannah at his side, everyone else started clearing out slowly. When the room was almost empty, there was still one person remaining there besides Hugh.

Ash.

**Aspen**

She was...somewhere. She just wasn't sure _where_. And there were voices...very odd voices. One so painfully familiar that it made her heart clench, and she was sure she was imagining things.

Ash. Ash Redfern.

Aspen had longed to hear his voice for a while, considering it was one of the only comforts she had found constant for her. She wanted to talk to him, to see how he had been doing, and how everything was working out for him. At the moment, sadly, that wasn't an option because of two reasons.

The first reason was because she was sure that she was imagining his warm voice, and that he wouldn't be able to reply and tell her anything. It saddened her to think and consider this, but what else was she to do? Everything else seemed about impossible to even _consider_. It hurt her to know that the one person she acknowledged, envied and cared for was just so close...or at least the sound of that person's voice was close. That was the most heartbreaking thing for her if this was all an odd dream where her mind was just giving her what she wanted in a restrained fashion.

Secondly, she couldn't speak if she wanted to.

Now, if she were able to find her body, and find her lips after managing to track down her voice, she was sure that she'd be able to speak clearly and loud enough so Ash could hear her. But, the problem:

Aspen had no idea where she was.

She wasn't in her body - she didn't think - yet, she still seemed to exist. The sensation was almost...exhilarating, yet it annoyed the hell out of her in the same moment. Exhilarating because she felt completely, and utterly free. Almost more irritating than anything else she had ever encountered because she couldn't _do_ anything.

Nothing; nothing at all.

It felt like she couldn't even breathe, yet she knew she was. She wasn't uncomfortable with lack of air; therefore proving her point.

As her thoughts raged on, the mumbling of voices near her came and went and she didn't pay attention. Yes, the people who were speaking were most likely talking about her. Did that mean she cared? Not necessarily. Did that mean that it wasn't important at all to her? No, that wasn't true. But she was angry and annoyed and sad and then, at the same time, relieved for a reason that she didn't know. And, shall she forget, the vague sense of..._longing_. Not for Ash, but for something else; _for_ someone else, she was sure. But, there was nothing that told her that this was logical in the least. That she was actually longing for someone who she didn't even know the identity of. All she knew at the moment, was that she was longing for someone who was nearby to her and that she really, _really_ needed to see them.

Of course, she couldn't see them.

Because she couldn't open her damn _eyes_!

If only, if only...then that would make everything in her world better for the moment and she wouldn't be throwing a fit inside her mind like a child who didn't get a toy they had wanted.

She only got away from the anger in her when it was quiet, and she couldn't hear anything except for the sound of familiar breathing - accompanied by steady, calming heartbeat - and then the sound of unfamiliar, gentle breathing with a heart that was pitter-pattering away like a hummingbird's wings. In excitement; or anticipation. Aspen couldn't tell, because she couldn't smell anything. Only the heavenly gift of hearing was what graced her at this very moment, and she felt like she was choked up when the familiar voice sounded.

"Hugh, what's going on? You've been looking at Aspen since you got a small glance at her. What're you thinking?" Ash said, his voice almost a mumble.

Hugh? Who in the hell was Hugh?

"I don't know what you're talking about, Ash. If you've seen me looking at her, it's because I'm just as concerned as everyone else about her well-being. Even if she _is _hazardous to our health."

The voice was soft, gentle, but Aspen wasn't trying to think about that. She was thinking about the words the person had spoke.

'_Well, lookie here. **Somebody** is playing the half-truth game; telling the truth but not _all_ the truth. I really hope Ash isn't stupid enough to believe that...but who knows. He might be too annoyed with the person to really notice that. Or not, because Ash sure is seeing more than I am right now..._' She thought, her thought starting out as her mischievous self before turning back into the haunting depression of not being able to speak to Ash.

Damn it all.

She heard Ash huff impatiently and then heard the sound of cloth rubbing against skin, so she was sure that he had crossed his arms.

Guess Ash had caught on to the 'half-truth'.

"Bullshit, Hugh. Now, tell me the _real_ reason." He said, his voice firm and the tension - coming from Ash, was her assumption - was like a thick blanket over her head. Cold, and warm at the same time. The cold wanting to swallow her up, while the warm was pleasant yet horrible all at once. It was confusing her, and she almost didn't catch the words that the other person - Hugh, most likely - said. Though, regaining control of her head and her thoughts, she listened in just in time to hear the response to Ash's command.

"That _is_ the real reason, Ash. I'm not lying to you; I really am concerned. I don't see how that would be difficult to believe." The person - Hugh, supposedly - said gently, and then let out a small sigh. It was almost a yawn, and suddenly Aspen felt drowsy.

Odd...she was practically already asleep...

She imagined Ash narrowing his eyes at Hugh, and then she wanted to yell out to tell Ash to stay with her when she heard his retreating footfalls.

'_No!_' She sobbed in her mind, and felt an emptiness in her.

Ash was gone...and now she was left with some guy that she didn't even know...He didn't seem Nightworld material, either. So, she was sure that he was a human. Any _normal_ Nightworld citizen would've taken on Ash's almost silent challenge head-on and wouldn't even begin to attempt to detour it.

All of the sudden, she was overwhelmed with anger that she didn't exactly understand herself, yet at the same time she understood it _very_ well.

Her Ash, who would always be so loyal to her, had left her in the hands of a human; vermin. But, there was only one problem with the anger that she so much wanted to keep in her to keep her thoughts away from the presence that was slowly moving closer to her.

She didn't feel disgusted or scared. She felt...comfortable.

This was not like Aspen in any way, shape or form.

As the presence of the human - the vermin named Hugh - she heard him sigh.

"I can't answer anyone's questions because _I _don't even know why she intrigues me." He muttered, and she heard him lean against whatever it was she was resting upon. Aspen was thinking it might be a couch, but she really wasn't all that sure. Then again, who could be when they could only judge things on what they heard?

She may be a vampire - a _Redfern_ vampire, at that - but she wasn't an expert at these things.

For goodness sakes, she was only 17!

At that very moment, she felt something...a shock. And for a moment, she thought that the vermin was hurting her. But, that was when she realized that the shock was _pleasant_.

Then, everything faded away.


	4. Realization

Thanks for the reviews, you guys are awesome! 3

Btw, it's still Aspen's POV so...yay! :D

Anyways, I had a lot a muse for this one and love the sequence where they are in each others minds – that was always my favorite part :3 – so, this was pretty easy and fun to write. But I always imagine the soulmates as actually _seeing_ each other in their minds, so I'll just have this as I pictured it. Sorry if it isn't as you thought, but I'm putting it so I can understand it as well as cherish it and write about it. 'Kay? (4,217 words, btw. I still say it's short x.x )

Enjoy! :D

* * *

Aspen didn't see how she could have everything fade away from her when there wasn't anything she had thought to fade. She had already been just...somewhere, and now, she was somewhere else.

It was bright, but dulled. There were little bits of words, images, people and everything else imaginable here in this odd, brightly dull place and that was when she realized that she was not alone. Though she was marveling at the place, she was aware of being tugged gently toward something...someone. An essence that was warm, protective, where she could be comfortable, herself and loved all at the same time. But the confusion started setting in as she started wondering _where_ she was being pulled. And then, a soft, almost marveling voice sounded.

_You...it's you._ The voice came, almost like an angel's, and she searched for it, and came close to finding it before something else occurred.

A large burst of light surrounded her, cradling her tenderly.

There was a person; a male.

He had blond hair that was almost a light brown, and it was somewhat longish of some sort. His skin was pallid, yet still had the hint of tan. But, what she noticed most of all were his eyes.

The boy's eyes didn't stand out; they were a light gray that just seemed to go for miles and miles, as if he had seen far too much yet not enough. It almost made her jealous to know that her eyes could never be like that - they couldn't even manage existing in merely _one color_. The jealousy and sadness from this quick realization echoed through her, and the little bubble that surrounded her - that the bright light was surrounding tenderly - darkened even more so. It was an eyesore in this wonderful place, but she didn't care. Aspen felt depressed at a loss of something she longed for; and there was a reaction to this oddity.

_No...don't be sad!_ The angelic voice pleaded to her, and she was then aware that the voice seemed to belong to the boy. With that moment, she was overwhelmed with the sudden sense of _him_. She _knew_ him; Hugh. Hugh Davis was his name. And he...this hadn't been his only life. But it by far had been the only life where he had met someone like her - Aspen Zylphia Redfern.

She was almost a treasure in his view, and she listened in on the thoughts surrounding her.

_Been so long to finally find _her_...had been thinking it would never happen...was worth waiting for...**Her**_.

The thoughts made her want to blush, and she really couldn't. Not in this place; her embarrassment and wonder at his thoughts - thoughts of _her_ - were laid out in front of him, flowing to him effortlessly without any trying from Aspen. And she felt even more embarrassed as the light surrounding her brightened at her momentary shyness.

_Why is this happening? Where _are_ we?_ She asked him, her voice echoing yet not. But her confusion was plain, and hesitant.

This was not the normal Aspen; the bitchy, smartass, arrogant Redfern that everyone else knew was gone at this very moment. When in her mind...she couldn't hide anything. Not that she was even attempting to hide anything from Hugh; that was the farthest thing from her mind.

_Not exactly...there's something farther. It's so dark...what is it? Wait...'it' isn't an _it. _There's more...so much more...it's so dark..._ Hugh said, and Aspen was about to tell him not to go back there - back toward the dark thoughts and memories - when one flashed in front of her. And she couldn't stop the images as they kept coming because of that first flash; she was remembering. Remembering something that she had forced herself to forget until now...

'_Little Aspen sat, next to her silent father, as they both looked to the middle of the room where someone was appearing..._

_Mommy._

_"Daddy, why is Mommy in the middle of the room? That's where bad people are supposed to be...Mommy isn't bad. Why is she...?" Aspen whispered, but her father seemed to not hear her. Gulping, she tugged lightly on her father's sleeve and he looked down at her with fathomless eyes. There was no emotion; no playful manner, no adoration, no anger. There was _nothing_. It scared her...her Daddy never acted like this. He was always so nice to her and he loved her. Just like he loved Mommy...but, Mommy was in the middle of the room and Daddy wasn't doing anything to help Mommy._

_Aspen looked at Mommy, who looked terrified as she peered up at the men sitting at the high tables in the high chairs._

_Uncle Hunter - her father had instructed her to call any friend of Mommy or Daddy's 'aunt' or 'uncle' - was looking down at Mommy with mean eyes, and a smirk was on his lips. Young Aspen was confused._

_Why was Uncle Hunter looking so mean, smirking at Mommy like that?_

_All Aspen knew was that she didn't like it._

_Her Daddy was looking at Mommy, emotionless, and Uncle Hunter looked at him before his smirk widened and he grinned viciously down at Mommy. At that moment, Aspen wanted to yell at Mommy to run because Uncle Hunter was going all loony. But, she knew she couldn't unless she wanted to get in trouble and have Daddy mad at her. She didn't like for Daddy to be mad at her, but she still had to bite her hand to keep from yelling or screaming or _anything_ to make Mommy go; to make Mommy go far, far away so Uncle Hunter wouldn't go all loony on her and scare her as much as he was scaring little, 8-year-old Aspen right now._

_"Araucaria Nevaeh Redfern; you are here to be executed for double-crossing the Night World Council. We will allow you a few moments to say farewell to your husband and daughter before we carry on." Uncle Hunter said, his voice almost happy yet reluctant when he said for Mommy to say 'farewell' to Aspen and Daddy. But Aspen was even more confused now._

_What did the word 'executed' mean?_

_As Mommy hurried over, Aspen was able to see tears running down her cheeks before she was in Mommy's arms._

_"Oh Aspen, my darling Aspen...I'm so sorry, so so sorry..." Mommy cried, and Aspen pulled her head away from Mommy's neck as she looked at Mommy with her eyebrows furrowed._

_"Mommy, don't cry. Why are you crying? And why are you sorry? Mommy...why are you going to say bye-bye to me and Daddy?" She asked, frowning at her mother. At this, Aspen's Mommy started crying harder and clutched Aspen just that much closer and tighter, and with Mommy crying so hard Aspen started sniffling as tears welled in her eyes._

_"Mommy? Why are you saying bye?" She said, her voice cracking as the tears spilled over her eyes. Mommy shook her head, burying her face in Aspen's hair as she kissed her daughter repeatedly, sniffling with tears running down her cheeks the whole entire time. "Don't cry, darling. Mommy is going to go bye-bye because she got in big, big trouble. Don't cry...Mommy will be fine." Mommy said, and started sobbing as she spoke those last four words. Then, hugging her daughter to her tightly, she kept repeating them in a whisper to her daughter._

_"Mommy will be fine...Mommy will be fine...Mommy will be just fine, Aspen Zylphia. Mommy _will_ be fine, I promise." She said, and Aspen couldn't help but try and accept her words._

_She still didn't know what 'execute' meant. But she didn't know if she _wanted_ to know what it meant anymore._

_Aspen knew enough to realize that it was a bad thing; a very, very bad thing_

_As Mommy looked at Daddy, tears in her eyes, Daddy gulped and got up before kissing Mommy on the forehead. "I'll miss you. And I love you, always, Araucaria. Always." Daddy whispered, and Mommy kissed him on the cheek before setting Aspen down and hugging Daddy lightly before backing away from them both and back to the floor. Then, she stood in the middle of the floor with tears still running down her cheeks._

_"Go ahead; I'm ready now."_

_That was when Aspen finally realized what 'execute' meant; especially when a few big, scary guys came out with wooden stuff._

_Pointy wooden stuff._

_As Aspen started getting up, lunging forward out of her chair, she felt Daddy grab her back and hold her tightly in place._

_"MOMMY!" Aspen screamed, but it was too late as one of the big, scary guys grabbed Aspen's Mommy roughly and jabbed her with the pointy wooden thingy; a knife._

_Mommy gave a faint, pained smile to her daughter before it started to fade and a vacant expression came to her eyes and her face, and then she started to slump as the big guy let go of her._

_"**NOOO! MOMMY! MOMMMYYYYYY! NOOOOOO!**" Aspen screeched, struggling angrily in Daddy's arms as Mommy fell to the floor with the pointy wooden knife still in her chest. Aspen bit her Daddy hard, but he didn't seem to care as he held her tightly to him. But the worst part didn't occur to Aspen until she saw one of the big guys with a fire starter thingy. Her Daddy had once told her that it was called a 'lighter'. But, right now as the big guys stood her Aspen's Mommy with it lighting up, she couldn't take it._

_A sob came from her as she looked at her still mother, and the sob progressed into full-out crying as tears ran down her cheeks, choked whimpering sounds coming from her throats as her lips trembled._

_As the big guys finally dropped the lighter on Mommy, Aspen let a screech out that was piercing._

_"**MOMMY! NO!**"_

_Many of the people in the room winced, and her Daddy slapped his hand over her mouth. Aspen grew out her fangs - tiny little things, but still sharp - and bit into his hand hard. Daddy hissed in pain, but held her tighter. Then he started whispering to her, it all almost a hiss. She was surprised she was able to understand him._

_"Aspen Zylphia, there is nothing we can do for your mother, and unless you want to end up like her - right here, right now - then I suggest you stop crying and be quiet." He hissed, his voice hushed with desperation and slight annoyance._

_She took her teeth out of his hand, and looked down at her laps with tears falling from her color-changing eyes._

_"Daddy...what did Mommy do that was so bad?" She whispered, her voice trembling as she looked up at Daddy. He was holding his head in his hands, and didn't seem to hear her for a moment. Then, when he spoke, it was only a whisper and Aspen had to listen hard to hear what he said._

_"She helped vermin."_

_And thats when everything fell apart for Aspen and she just sobbed, not caring anymore._

_Her Mommy was gone and never coming back. And Aspen didn't want to end up like Mommy, no matter how much she missed her._

_It was at that moment that Aspen decided she would be strong; that nothing would affect her if she had any say about it. She _refused_ to end up like her mother - helping vermin and going soft on them. She would never help vermin a day in her life. Vermin were the reason her mother was dead, and Aspen was sure to never forget it._

_As she stood up, her tears drying on her cheeks as they kept running, her eyes were hard as she looked at Daddy._

_"Teach me how to fight; how to be a **true** Redfern, Daddy. I promise I won't let you down, and that I'll never fall in love with vermin or tell them anything. Not unless I'm going to kill them. I want you to teach me _everything_." She said, her voice determined as it twavered slightly. But otherwise, her voice was steady as she looked down at her sulking, heartbroken father. For now on, there was no one or anything that was going to get to her heart unless she wanted it to. Unless she _needed _to. Aspen didn't want a fairytale ending; she wanted the dawning of a nightmare to reign upon the vermin that were the reason that her mother was dead._

_That was all that mattered._

_Daddy looked up at her, and a grim smile came to his lips at his young daughter's words. Spoken like a true Redfern, his mother would say._

_"That's my girl." He said, his voice warm._

_Aspen grinned as he stood, patting her head, and then he started leading her out of the court room where the remains of his beloved wife and mother of his child lay, turning into ashes in the smoldering fire._

_There was now only one thing on Aspen's mind as she practically sauntered out of that room. And there was only one word to describe it:_

**_Revenge_**_._'

Aspen wheeled back from the memory, and Hugh was there in silent horror at the monstrosity.

_How...How could they do that? And to your mother? I'm so, so sorry Aspen...I-I didn't know that it was _that_ dark and that it would hurt you so much going back to that memory. I should've never intruded back in that corner._ He apologized, honestly sorry and yet the horror was still there. But Aspen - she could feel nothing but pain, loss and just...agony. Agony at having to relive that moment, the moment that changed everything for her. Everything in her _life_. Hell, she would've turned out fine if her mother hadn't of been killed when she had been so young. Yet...there was some sort of relief at seeing it. There wasn't as much pain in her cold heart as she thought there would have been.

Maybe it was because she had all but forgotten about this memory, and it almost seemed like watching a movie. With only one problem of course, and that was the fact that she could feel everything the little blond girl had felt.

Hurt. Loss. Agony. Depression. Anger. Regret. Acceptance, at the same time as well.

She didn't feel it as strongly anymore. Which meant she had succeeded in her vow to make herself stronger since her mother had been murdered - or rather sentenced. Her mother had committed a crime, and she now deserved the death penalty of that idiotic choice.

_No...you don't think that. Not really. You are just trying to give yourself more reasons to not break down._ Hugh said and Aspen felt anger consume her.

_You don't know who I am or what I am, Hugh! Don't tell me what I'm doing and what I'm not doing! I think I'd know that better than _you_!_ She snapped at him, and hurt and regret swelled in him. Remorse overwhelmed her as she tried to take back her words. It hurt her to hurt him; it was a chain reaction. You hurt one of them, and you hurt both. And right now, Hugh was kind of hurt by her harsh words and she really wanted to make him happy again. To be that light, cheery person that she was fond of already. He looked at her when she thought this, as she kept forgetting that he could hear everything that went on in her head. Aspen gave a smile, and sighed as she embraced him with her mind and inner self.

Her mind conjoined with his completely, and she started seeing little images run through her head.

A little blond haired boy, running toward werewolves with a silver necklace and a torch. Overcome with the urge to try and save his family and himself, though he knew that he most likely wouldn't survive this. But he would rather die trying to save his family than just sit there and watch them die.

Another memory...

Jez Redfern peering above him, worry etched into her features. Her lips moved as she spoke, but the words were silent.

Hugh was better at controlling his thoughts than Aspen was, so as she started gushing over his bravery as a young boy to go up against full grown, strong werewolves with not any more at hand than a mere silver necklace and hastily made torch. He chuckled at her exasperation and amazement, and she couldn't really think anything but the shock of it. It was only emotions coming out of her at the moment, so there were no words that he was able to understand.

Aspen felt a surge of brightness in her as he pushed some of his bright spirit into the dark corners of her mind, trying to light up the places that made her depressed.

_There's nothing you can do, Hugh. What's happened to me has happened, and no matter how much you try to help me and heal me, I guarantee you won't succeed. Thats the last thing that will happen, and I have no doubts on this. You might as well give up on me now before it's too late - that is, if it isn't already._ She thought to him, and he kissed her forehead. Everything around her seemed to melt and warm, and he chuckled as he kept her close. _I won't ever give up on you. Not for as long as I live. Do you trust me on that? Do you believe me when I promise that?_ He thought, and was staring at her. She could hear and feel the desperation in him, the devotion, to this impossible task.

Right as she was about to answer him, thats when she remembered.

Everything.

Humans..._vermin_. She couldn't trust them. It was all their fault that her mother was dead. She couldn't ever forgive any human for that; for taking her mother from her. For making her who she was today.

With a surge of realization, anger came as well.

Hugh was vermin; she couldn't trust him.

As she wrenched herself away from him, everything started to fade as she glared at him in anger.

_No...I can't trust you. Now GET OUT OF MY HEAD, YOU WORTHLESS VERMIN!_ She said, feeling the sudden anger and surprise from herself. He felt it too, but the hurt in him was excruciating. _Aspen -_ She cut him off and the fury was at large in her, overriding every single thought she had had while in the presence of Hugh Davis. The vermin. The one she didn't want to trust.

_Get **OUT**! _She screeched in her mind, and everything that had remained shattered.

Hugh left, but his presence was still there in her mind, though it was faint. Aspen didn't care, or notice, as everything in her broke and she let everything bleed out.

Her depression...her anger...her hurt...her loss...

But most of all, how _stupid_ she had been to allow Hugh to get as close as he had to her. She didn't want to face him ever again, and at that moment she immediately started shoving everything that had happened in this once happy time in her mind to the dark corners, wishing for the moments to disappear.

Soon, she felt dizzy.

Then everything faded back into that cold wasteland that was the blackness of deathly unconsciousness.

**Hugh**

He was shoved out of Aspen's mind - with a small thread keeping him both there and now back in his body.

He shook his head, bewilderment betraying his usually calm self, as he looked at the still serene, unconscious Aspen that was on the couch. She hadn't seemed to have been disturbed at all, and for what had happened it came to him as a shock and he gulped. Studying her face, he felt his eyes soften.

She was different, that was for sure. She was insecure...she was hurt...there were injuries in her that were far from repair and he didn't know what he could do to help her. Hugh didn't find it wise to try and force himself back into his mind, though now he could sense a deep depression and darkness from her and knew that if he tried, he was bound to get in an even worse position than he was already in. He was almost dreading when she woke up from this...this trance of some sort, and yet, he wasn't. He _wanted_ Aspen to wake up, so he could really know her.

In their conjoining minds, the small form of the inner self that was her didn't really give away much besides what he saw already.

Golden blond hair in almost curly waves, pallid skin with it's naturally soft appearance, her full pink lips and the small little dimple on her chin. The short sleeve flannel shirt that was black and gray mostly with some white, her denim skinny jeans and the studded ankle boots that she wore. The only thing that the inner self was lacking were the bast cords that were tied tightly around her wrists. But, he knew that he would get in trouble if he removed them, so after running his fingers over the overly familiar material, he immediately pulled his hand back as he remembered what happened the last time that he touched her skin.

The last thing he wanted was for Aspen to hate him more than she already did. It would hurt even more than it already did, and he didn't want that.

Hugh sighed as he looked at her face, which was calm and innocent.

Then, looking around the room to see the clock, he froze as he saw someone leaning in the doorway. Hugh cleared his throat, and then finally found the clock.

It was only 3 A.M.

Why would someone be up this late? Or rather, this early. But still?

Then it dawned on him.

Oh..._Oh_.

Hugh stared at the floor, watching his fidgeting hands before he spoke.

"Yes, Jez?"


	5. Guidelines

Hey guys! Love the reviews, and it made me want to write more. :) Still Hugh's POV!

Thanks to I. Follow. With. Faith (sorry, have to do spaces or it won't show up x.x), Angel Duckii, Nightgirl25 and Annabelle for reviewing. :)

Here ya go!

* * *

Jez raised an eyebrow, and was quiet for a moment. Hugh was waiting in the silence, the tension in him growing as he struggled to keep a nonchalant, serene expression on his face. It was becoming difficult, and she seemed to notice this as her eyebrows furrowed.

"Why are you so...freaked out? You look like you just - " She stopped speaking, and that made Hugh stop breathing as he looked at her.

She watched him, growing realization and shock appearing on her face as she studied him even longer. And the tension kept growing and growing, until finally he couldn't really bare for her to be staring at him with that inquiring look that also had shock and realization - with a hint of relief and fear - for much longer. He just wanted to crawl under a rock and stay there until Jez left with her heavy gaze and the confusing emotions conflicting on her features. He was about to about to say something, but as soon as she started talking, he wasn't able.

"Hugh...what just happened here? Why do you look like...like...like how _I_ felt after I figured out Morgead was my soulmate?" Jez said, and he opened his mouth to speak before shutting it abruptly.

It was a few moments before he could talk, and it was quiet when he did.

"I accidentally touched her skin and..._it_ happened. The soulmate principle." He whispered, slumping against the arm of the couch, near where Aspen's head was resting. The proximity was intoxicating, but the feeling of rejection was overriding his hormones. They were almost nonexistent compared to his depression and regret.

Jez was at his side almost immediately, a huge grin on her face.

"That's great, Hugh!" She said, her voice full of excitement and appraisal. He looked at her, and then grin was replaced with a frown as her eyebrows furrowed.

"What's wrong? How can you be so...down about this? You found _her_; your soulmate. There isn't anything about this situation that is saddening. Of all things, you should be _happy_." She said, exasperated as she huffed, a glint of frustration and confusion in her eyes. He gulped and shook his head, and then held his head in his hands as he groaned quietly - out of pain, mostly. Pain for _what_ had happened when he had made the connection with Aspen. He hadn't meant to hurt her or make her mad, of all things, and now he had messed up **everything**. It was all his fault...and it was always going to be his fault because he had gotten nosy - rare thing for him. Resulting in Hugh possibly losing the one person he had always longed to find...and who now hated him and would most likely kill him if she got her hands on him...

Hugh felt his breath hitch, and a lump was growing in his throat. He cleared his throat, and then turned his head to look at Jez with a miserable gaze. The amount of emotion showing was shocking, and he wasn't surprised when he saw Jez's expression turn to one of shock.

He managed to find the will to speak, somewhere. It almost seemed harder to keep it in him - torturing him as it bounced around in his head - so it wasn't very hard to say it.

"She hates me...she doesn't want me Jez. I messed up and she just...doesn't want me. Not only did I mess up, but I'm the thing she _hates_. She'd rather kill me than ever _be_ with me. And - and..." His voice lowered to a tortured whisper. "I...I think she's _anything_ but alright now. There's nothing but a dark coldness coming from her - from our connection. It's like she isn't there...but I can't do anything...not unless I want her to hate me more than she already does. It would be even worse than it is right _now_." He closed his eyes, shaking his head before hitting his forehead with his palm.

Jez sighed, and touched his shoulder lightly in a sense of comfort. He put his free hand on top of hers, but he still didn't feel any better.

How could he?

Another sigh - more so impatient this time - came from Jez and he could tell she was thinking because there was a calculating tension radiating from her that he easily recognized. But, keeping quiet, he huffed and took his hand from hers as he slumped.

"I don't think you should worry about this too much, Hugh. I know it may seem like it's the end of the world, but...it's _not_. This is almost exactly what happened to Ash and Mary-Lynnette. But, Mary loves Ash, even if she didn't at first. Aspen**_ will_** come around, Hugh. They always do; they always will. The soulmate principle isn't something that can be fought...she'll give in to you. Sure, it may take time, but she will. She'll be stubborn - something all Redferns are born as." She said, and offered a smile that Hugh feebly returned.

But, as his smile faltered, a grimace graced his lips. "You don't know _what_ I even did, Jez. I..." He lowered his voice so it was softer. "I accidentally went to a very dark memory...when her mother, Araucaria Redfern, was killed. And she was only 8...her mother was killed because she helped humans..." He whispered, shaking his head.

A choked sound came from Jez - a sound of shock.

"_Araucaria Nevaeh Redfern_?" She said, disbelief in her voice. Hugh nodded solemnly, looking at Jez with empty eyes.

She shook her head and blinked a lot, and that didn't give him any good feelings about Aspen's mother - Araucaria Redfern. Why was it so...shocking that she was Aspen's mother?

"Hugh, do you remember all of Red Fern's - Maya's son - wives?" Jez whispered, almost mouthing the words. He thought for a moment, and shook his head. "No, I only know a few. There was only a few that I was alive for but otherwise I left it alone. Why?" He said, some confusion leaking into his voice as he felt his eyebrows furrow.

Jez looked at him, her eyes wide, and she cleared her throat uncomfortably before taking a deep breath to speak.

"Araucaria Nevaeh Redfern, the 7th wife of Red Fern. She was his _soulmate_; the only one he had truly loved. She was his third cousin, and third cousins are able to marry in the Redfern family - I think she was a Harman or something, though. Or a Redfern still. Descended from Hellewise, possibly, with Maya's blood in her as well. They had one child, a child who's name no one thought was important enough to record. All that was written was that Araucaria was killed by the Council in 2000, when the child was 8 years old. There was a commotion that went on when Araucaria was killed, that the child was struggling to get to it's mother and was trying to somehow help her. Screaming, crying - the whole bit. And after it's mother was almost completely ashes, the child left with her father - _Red Fern_ - after having a few words of requesting to fight and learn how to be a _true_ Redfern. Then, the child and her father weren't seen for about a decade, and the child was sighted somewhere and then everything else was lost to time. Don't you realize what I'm saying? Aspen...she...she's _Red Fern's _daughter." Jez said, her voice now almost a whisper.

Hugh almost choked.

Aspen...Aspen was _the_ daughter of Red Fern - the son of Maya. She was one of the purest if not **the** purest Redfern that was alive. It depended on whether or not her father was still alive.

His soulmate was probably one of the biggest human haters in the world...

Great. Just wonderful.

But even now, Hugh knew that he wouldn't give up on her. Not after he finally found _her_. He'd waited too long, and he didn't want to let her go. She was too important.

Even now, only having one encounter with her, he knew he cared about Aspen.

That was all that mattered to Hugh now.

* * * ***4 days later*** * * *

Hugh had practically been tortured in the past few days, with Aspen being unconscious the whole time. He couldn't access her mind if he wanted to - and he _really_ wanted to. There was a dark void keeping him out, and he couldn't find any ways through it no matter how hard he tried. Jez had been helping him out in the past few days, and so far no one noticed anything besides that he seemed stressed and different. But the person who was watching him closest besides Jez herself was Ash. He didn't know what was going on - Hugh hoped and prayed - but he seemed suspicious considering the only two people willing to watch over the unconscious Aspen were Ash and Hugh himself.

He couldn't blame Ash; it was his family member. But it was _Hugh's soulmate_.

Too bad the only one who knew of it was Jez, and the two who knew didn't plan on letting anyone else know until Aspen was awake.

But, Ash wasn't ignorant, and Hugh found this out the night Aspen awoke.

As Hugh walked down the stairs, solemnly as he glanced toward the couch where _she_ was, he saw that there was an all-too-familiar form by the arm of the couch. The person was near her head, and his blond hair was disheveled as he leaned his head close to where the unconscious family member was.

Ash didn't turn his head toward Hugh when he reached the bottom of the stairs noisily, but instead he spoke.

"I don't see why you hadn't told me in the first place, Hugh."

His voice was dull, but it still made Hugh jump from the abruptness of it. For a short moment, he was confused as he pondered over Ash's words before a cold realization came to him. Though, playing it calm, he kept walking toward Ash and Aspen before sitting on the chair closest to both of them. As his light gray eyes looked at Ash, glancing to Aspen for a moment with a deep depression in them, he noticed that Ash seemed cold and distant. Even worse than usual, to put it in a nut shell. First, he had been rejected by Mary-Lynnette, and now his closest family member was in a bad condition and unconscious.

Tough luck for Ash Redfern.

"What're you talking about, Ash?" Hugh said dully, looking at the vampire with tired eyes.

Ash looked away from the innocent looking face of Aspen Redfern and his eyes were cold as he glared at Hugh accusingly.

"You're her _soulmate_. Don't think I'm stupid, and don't try to lie to me. I see the way you look at her; I noticed when you started acting weird after that first night of watching her. I know what happened." He said, and Hugh felt like he was having a hard time breathing. Ash knew...Ash knew...Ash knew...The words were numb in his mind before having a cold clarity.

_Ash knew._

"Are you mad?" Hugh said, almost mouthing the words. Ash still heard him, or seemed to understand.

His eyes narrowed at Hugh. "Yes, because you didn't tell me. She's family to me, Hugh. She's closer than anyone else. I'm very protective of her. And I'm fine with you two being soulmates, but I have a few guidelines for you." He said, and Hugh looked at him as he slumped in his chair. His eyes stared at Ash, who looked back with a fierce gaze and he was almost in a protective manner as he leaned against the couch that held Aspen on it.

"First of all, if you even upset her _once_ while I'm around or I find out about it, I guarantee that I'll kick your ass if she doesn't do that herself. Second of all, if you try to force yourself on her, I'll kick your ass. And lastly, you break her heart; I break your face. Got it?" Ash said, his voice harsh and protective. Hugh didn't find himself scared; he found a large amount of respect for Ash in him. He nodded slowly after a moment, and Ash relaxed as he sighed. Then, closing his eyes, he covered his face with his hands. "But I warn you, Hugh, that she most likely won't remember you. You've become part of her traumatic experience and she always stores it away. So, don't approach her right away unless you want to be killed. She'll be alarmed, like an animal. So, just be careful around her, okay? I don't want her anymore hurt than she already is." Ash said, and Hugh nodded before he froze as he saw Aspen move.

She was waking up.

**Aspen**

Her mind started lightening and she could think. The one thing she felt was the refreshment. But there was a void in her memory that she didn't exactly recognize, but she was pretty sure that it was nothing. Aspen just really felt like getting up.

She stirred, and the movement felt odd though it was small. Just a small movement of her arm, but her arm was very stiff. She wanted to sigh, groan and whine but she couldn't at the moment. There was one thing that she desperately needed to do, and she was going to do that before she did anything else.

She needed to see Ash.

Aspen struggled to open her eyes, and they seemed heavy before giving in to opening and letting her see her surroundings.

They fluttered before opening a little bit. It was dark, but it was still too bright and she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Aspen?" A warm voice asked, and she struggled to open her eyes and managed to open them a crack. A pale face with light blond hair ruffled around his face, and his color-changing eyes that were so similar to her own were there, and a faint smile came to her lips.

"Ash." She murmured, and blinked a few times before opening her eyes fully.

* * *

**Sorry guys! It's terrible x.x But it's good enough. I might go back and edit it but I think it's good... :D Enough**


	6. Missing A Lifetime

Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews. :)

Still Aspen's POV, btw xD

Here's the next chapter!

* * *

Her eyes saw Ash, and then there was also someone else but she really didn't care. It was a human; she could tell from the person's scent. Again, she didn't care. Ash was there, and that was all that mattered. With his blond hair, attitude, and understanding of her. She had missed him; everything about him. Even if she was his great-great-great-however many greats - if it was very many - aunt or something like that, he was still more like a sibling or a best friend to her. He was practically the most important thing to her, and it had been a long time since she had last seen him.

'_A year or at least half a year, I think..._' She thought vaguely, and then a large smile came to her lips.

"Hey Ash." She said softly, letting out a small laugh of shock.

He grinned at her, and she immediately sat up without using her arms. She had felt the restraints on her wrists, and didn't really feel like messing with them. Her wrists already felt raw; she didn't want to screw them up any more.

As she adjusted herself, swinging her legs from the couch, she looked around the room and smiled when she saw something useful. There was a prominent steel coat hanger that had a rough tip. Now, if only she could get over there before Ash stopped her and put her back on the couch...

"Where am I?" She asked lightly, still looking around.

Ash and the vermin looked at each other for a moment and then Ash frowned a bit.

It depressed Aspen to see him like that.

Her eyebrows furrowed as Ash studied her for a moment with that frown on his lips, and she really just wanted to smack him. With that want, though, came an idea. A very, very interesting idea...

When a few moments went by without Ash answering her, her eyes narrowed. "You won't tell me, will you?" She said, her voice dark and he sighed before shaking his head. As he opened his mouth to speak, she spoke before him. "Of course, Ash, of _course_! You won't tell me where I am, and now I'm stuck here with no fucking idea how far I am and whether or not Ca..." At that thought her teeth clenched and she shook her head. That was now out; Cassius was dead. '_Cas, if only you were here right now..._' She thought wistfully and then cleared her throat. Ash had caught her moment, and he looked at her with slight worry. "Aspen?" He questioned as she cleared her throat again to get rid of the lump forming. When he reached out to her with his hand, her eyes flickered to it in a glare.

"_Don't touch me_." She snarled, and he let his hand drop.

His eyes were confused and sad. "Aspen...whats the matter? Besides the fact that I won't tell you where we are..." He said, trailing off as she glared at him.

"That's none of your business, Ash. You haven't been around; you wouldn't understand." She said coldly, huffing as she looked down at her painfully bound hands. There were little beads of blood appearing now since she had tensed her hands and made the cord cut into her skin more.

At her words, there was a true look of shock on the always ever-so-calm, carefree face of Ash Redfern.

'_There's more than a lifetime, it seems, that he's missed,_' She thought to herself, and the vermin's eyes widened as she thought this.

Aspen thought nothing of it.

"What-what...what are you _talking_ about? I've been around you all your life, Aspen! How in the hell have I _not_ been around?" Ash said, his voice hushed. As he spoke, he was standing up abruptly and Aspen had a grim smile on her lips as she shook her head. Not only would her plan _work_, but it would definitely let her get her anger out at Ash. That was something that she needed to do; otherwise she would kill the first person who someone ticked her off or end up killing herself by being a stupid girl blinded by rage and not caring what she did...Or maybe she could break _another_ Nightworld law and get killed.

Simple enough.

A small, dark laugh came from her lips.

"How stupid you are to think that." She muttered, and when he was about to retort, she shot him a glare. He closed his mouth, and then sat back down. "Thank you," she said curtly. Then, she closed her eyes and opened them slowly. Her eyes were cold now, and there was nothing to be seen.

'_Good,_' She thought to herself, and the human seemed to lean forward as she thought.

'_Creepy...and very odd..._' She thought in an aside and the vermin raised an eyebrow. Ignoring him now, Aspen leaned forward a little to meet Ash's gaze.

"Well, let's see. How long since I've last seen you?" She paused for a moment and when Ash opened his mouth, she continued. "Oh, _that's_ right. A year, Ash. You haven't seen me in a damned year. And now, guess what? You don't know anything about me! _I've changed_. I'm not the old Aspen Redfern. You see..." She laughed a little, a small, hysterical laugh. "I'm worse, oh so much worse, than I used to be. Do you know why I'm here?" Ash didn't answer her verbally: he merely shrugged. A vague sigh escaped her lips and she stood up and took a few steps in the opposite direction of the coat hanger.

Turning back to him, her eyes were an eery yellow. The silver tint was more noticeable than ever, and an easy smile came to her lips.

"You see, Ash, it all started about...say, 11 months ago. I was fighting for my life to get away from both a band of vermin," her eyes looked at the human, "and then I was also escaping from a group of werewolves. They were cornering me, and I was already far too injured to be healing all that well. I had wood lodged in my back, and was cut up pretty badly by wood. I wasn't really healing at all. As my enemies closed in, I relaxed. I was no longer afraid of death; it was almost welcoming. So, I just let myself be cornered. But..." She started smiling pleasantly.

"Something happened; someone came to help me. Within mere _minutes_ it was quiet, and there was no longer the feeling of a threat. Someone came around the corner and entered the alley that I had sheltered myself in. I didn't even bother to defend myself; I didn't care if it was an enemy or not. I was dying, and I needed blood. Of course, I honestly didn't care. Dying...the dream I had always desired." She said, a sigh of content coming from her lips as she imagined dying.

Coming back from her fantasies, she looked back at Ash.

"It was a guy; he looked to be 19. He came and didn't even ask me if I was alright. He picked me up, and took me somewhere. I don't know where, by the time he had been nearing a Camaro I had fallen unconscious. I woke up about 2 hours later, and he was asking me if I could walk. I couldn't, so he carried me once again to this brick building. He was a vampire, I had finally be coherent enough to realize this fact. Regardless, I was still pissed off because I was so...weak. I couldn't defend myself if I wanted to, and I couldn't even take one step. He sheltered me for a few days, but I still wasn't healing up well." She grimaced.

"He gave me his blood, not in the least hesitant or anything relating to that. I took it, willingly, and soon enough my injuries managed to heal. It was then he told me his name; his name was Cassius. He was a made vampire...a century or so old. He knew enough to take care of me, and help me get better. Yet, after I was okay, I still had a strong contact with him. We had a friendly relationship for at least a month and then it changed. I fell in love with him, and he in return."

A small sigh came from her lips before she bit her lower lip and looked at the ground while she thought. Then, her eyes flickered back to Ash, who was staring at her blankly.

"We became the best partners and couple. We worked well together, we got along better than anyone else. My relationship with him was stronger than mine is with you. I cared about him; we never fought. We were faithful." She gave a rueful laugh. "We were the perfect couple, to put it mildly. Everything was...great. Then, one night, we were out on a mission to get rid of some troublesome vermin. It was 4 months that we had been together, and Cas died that night." She was whispering now, and she shook her head with a grim smirk on her lips.

"But I got them; only one of them survived and the one that _did_ live wasn't even apart of the original group. Cas was dead by then, and I was so consumed with rage and heartbreak at his death - right in front of my eyes - that I finally came to my senses when I was finishing off the last one."

It was quiet for a moment before Aspen paced, moving to the other side of the room and was very close to the coat hanger before she moved to stand behind the couch. She rested her elbows on the back of the couch, and leaned forward.

"I buried Cassius, and then started to hunt down the disgrace that killed him. She got away quite a few times, but I managed to leave a scar." She said, smirking to herself before pacing again and coming close to coat hanger again. She studied the walls, and then looked at the grandfather clock far off in a corner. It said that it was 12:30. So, a little bit after midnight was great for her. She didn't have to worry about the damned sun for another few hours and she could bask in the coolness of the night when she got out of the house. _If_ she did. Who knows, she might be kind and stick around for Ash's sake.

As long as they didn't put those cords around her wrists again or tie her up.

"I put it off for a while and then about a month ago, I started planning attacks. Killing on land I wasn't allowed to; I was _hoping_ it would get me killed. Of course, something slipped out of my smartass mouth and told the Council that I was more afraid of living with vermin or Circle Daybreak. So, they made sure both happened. I killed 23 humans in 2 weeks, and was more powerful than ever. But I got distracted, and everything went haywire. Though, it was still how I planned...until _this_ happened, of course. And now, here I am." She said, moving closer to the coat hanger.

"And I don't know about _you_, but these cords are killing my wrists. So, I'm just gonna -" Aspen put up her wrists, and brought them down quickly on the rough surface.

Sure enough, though it hurt her wrists, the cord was cut and she stretched out her arms.

Ash was staring at her wide-eyed, but the human was indifferent as he sighed.

A yawn came from her lips as she let her shoulders pop pleasantly from the lack of movement.

"I'm tired...what about you guys?" She said lightly, going over and laying down on the couch. Ash raised an eyebrow and Aspen mimicked him. Then she thought of something.

"Oh!"

It was a small gasp before she hurled herself at Ash, and took him a tight hug. It took him a minute before he reacted to her embrace, and he hesitantly wrapped his arms around her form. She held him tighter, burying her face into the crook of his neck and sighing.

"Don't leave me for so long again. _Please_." She said, hitting his shoulder sharply before slinking back to the soft couch.

Ash muttered an 'ow' and a peal of laughter came from her lips. Her color changing were a light lavender right now, and they glimmered in the small amount of light. As they started shifting to a forest green, Ash sighed.

"Is it stupid to say I've missed you as well, Aspen?" He said, scratching the back of his head apprehensively.

He looked scared at the possibility of being whacked by her again when she raised one of her hands.

Bring the hand to her lips, she lifted it a little so she could get to her wrist. Aspen licked the blood there lightly, being careful not to hurt her raw injuries, and the deep cuts started healing as she rid it of her blood. A smile came to her lips and she looked at Ash with mischievous, bright eyes that were a pure silver.

"Not at all, Ash. Not at all." She said lightly, and then went back to licking at her injured wrists.

He sighed in relief, but as she narrowed her eyes at him, he went back to being hesitant and apprehensive.

"But, Ash Redfern, I swear..." Her voice started out quiet but quickly grew to a yell.

"If you _EVER_ leave me for that long again, I will _kill_ you!" She snapped loudly, her voice a shout and then she went back to cleaning her wrists.

A smirk came to her lips when she heard a hefty amount of doors opening and slamming closed from upstairs.


	7. Shocker

Hope you guys like this chapter! I had fun writing it. :3

Still Aspen's POV!

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The sound of rushed footsteps echoed in the dark, formerly silent house. Aspen kept licking her wrist lightly to get rid of the blood and have her wrists heal up. She couldn't exactly be the 'nicest' person when she was injured; she was more likely to kill someone or worse.

Of course, she had recognized a certain scent in this household that had her blood boiling in anger.

'_Control yourself; you can't kill her. Not yet, not when there are too many people..._' She thought, shaking her head at the image of the vermin dead in her mind, and a strangled gasp came from the human. "No!" He said, but then slapped his hand over his mouth. Her eyes looked at him, and they were suspicious along with being mad. "What are you spazzing about?" She snapped, narrowing her eyes at him. He met her angered gaze for a moment, and she froze. His gray eyes met hers, concerned and with some sort of longing in them. She was entranced for a moment, but then came to her senses. A hiss came from her clenched teeth as she looked away from him.

Unfamiliar and familiar faces started entering the living room, and with practically every single one, their eyes widened. Only the familiar faces were remaining serene, if not a little bit put out and shocked.

Her eyes were cold as she looked toward them all, and then she looked away and continued to attend to her still-bleeding wrists.

"Ash...where did the bast cords around her wrists go?" Aspen heard a familiar voice ask coldly; an annoyingly familiar voice. A small laugh came from her lips when Ash opened his mouth defenselessly. "Quinn, why must you always assume that I can't take care of something for myself?" She said, raising an eyebrow at him. He looked at her, his dark eyes flashing dangerously, and a smirk came to her lips. "Well?" She said, looking at him as her eyes shifted to a threatening scarlet. His glare intensified and she laughed, out of true amusement. It sounded almost hysterical, but she didn't really care.

She was half insane anyways.

"Quinn, are you honestly idiotic enough to think I can't take care of myself? Please." She rolled her eyes. "How else would I still be alive? Of course, there is one time..." She said, looking back at the vermin and Ash in a hard gaze before turning back to the large group of people.

"He isn't stupid, leech." A dark voice said, and Aspen immediately recognized it.

The Cat; Rashel the Cat. The one who had killed Cassius.

Aspen looked at the human; Rashel. Her eyes burned with repulsion and anger, but a shell of mocking to cover it to an extent.

"He obviously must be, darling, if he is in love with _you_." She said, and laughed before looking at her still-gory wrists with curious, probing eyes. The gashes were still there, and healing very, very slowly. She closed her eyes, and leaned her head back on the couch.

"Just like I should've killed you along with your wretched _boyfriend_, Aspen."

The words were like a cold slap, and half-mad laughter came from Aspen and she listened to the shocked silence around her at her outburst. Her eyes opened lazily, and gazed at the vermin she wished to kill right then and there. The faces around the Cat were ones of surprise, and understanding at the same time. Her eyes watched Rashel, and then she looked up at the ceiling. Studying the contours of the interior, her eyes shifted to a color that was almost white. A tired sigh came from her, and she dug her nails into her arm to keep from tearing up something.

A feeling of her skin being torn made her take her hand away. As she lifted her head, she saw the beading blood on her arm.

She pursed her lips before looking back at Rashel.

What had seemed like hours had been mere seconds. And Rashel was waiting for a snappy retort from Aspen - or rather was expecting one. She just didn't know how much Aspen would've loved to die with Cas.

"Aspen!" Ash hissed when he saw the blood on her arm, and a giggle burst from her lips when she glanced at him.

"It's nothing, Ash. You know as well as I do that it'll be gone in a moment." She said softly, and used her leg to push him back to where he was seated. He had started to get up; she didn't need the help or concern.

Sure enough, the small scratch was gone when she looked back at her arm, and then she wiped the blood off and onto her jeans. It was just one more article of clothing that she would have to replace, but she honestly didn't care much. Having blood on her jeans would just be a reminder of what she had left to live for.

'_I'd probably be dead by now if I didn't have so much revenge to take care of..._' She mused, and then started to turn her head toward the group - Rashel, really - when she saw the male human react to her thought.

He was almost...tortured by her thought, it seemed. Behind a calm mask, in his eyes was agony as he looked at her. He shook his head slightly at her; it was a 'no', she realized after a second. Her eyes narrowed at him before she looked back at Rashel and gave a little smile.

"You know, after I get what I need to have done - _done_, I might call on you to kill me...if you're still alive. But then again, if I _did_ kill you, Quinn would murder me in an instant. So, it's a win-win situation for me regardless of what you do. There is no way to truly get rid of someone who doesn't fear anything. Like, living with vermin or Circle Daybreak - both in this situation - is far from fearful in my mind. If you were truly a threat, by now you would have me all tied up again and have me in a room without any windows, a wood and steel enforced door - which is difficult to find, trust me - and without blood for a long while. Not very much of a threat, if you ask _me_. Then again, who knows. I may be wrong and you all are just waiting for me to give some sign of attack to find a good enough reason to. Of course, that's far from being the center concentration on my mind." She said, and looked at her wrists again thoughtfully.

"By the way, you might want to think of better containment products. I know a way to get out of most of the modern ones commonly used as of now." She said airily.

It was quiet in the room as everyone let the shock of her almost idiotic cockiness wear off.

'_Everything would be so much easier if everyone knew _exactly_ what I was thinking and talking about._' She thought, and a muffled chuckle came from the direction of the human.

When she looked at him, he had a small, almost nonexistent smile on his lips and was trying to smother the laugh.

"You know, it takes a _lot_ for someone to annoy the hell out of me before I even speak a word to them, but you have succeeded. Congrats; I'm now annoyed by you. And if you come over here then I might just rip your thro-" The human raised an eyebrow but Ash kicked her leg lightly.

She glared at him.

"What? I'm only giving him the facts. And the possibilities." She said, shrugging a little before looking back at the human.

It was then she believed she really couldn't hurt him.

He looked...he looked too _innocent_. Even if he was vermin and had probably killed plenty of her own species, he seemed too pure to harm. It was an odd sensation of wanting to _protect_ him instead of kill him, but she ignored it as she narrowed her eyes at him.

It was then she really looked at him.

He had hair that was blond, almost dark enough to call a light brown, and it was somewhat shaggy. His skin was pale, yet it still had a hint of a tan. And she was sure that if he was standing up, he would be slightly taller than she. Though, the thing that startled her wasn't any of that.

It was his eyes.

They were simple; a shiny gray that gave out most of his emotion. But it was so much more than a simple gray. His eyes held everything; his eyes appeared to have _seen_ everything. Over, and over again so much that it almost made him look tired. The bit that made him seem tired though was the gentle him; otherwise just _him_. There was something different, though, that shouldn't be there as they stared at each other. Something that caught her attention, and she wanted to lean forward to look closer but held herself back.

The _shining_ aura; it was almost as if she mattered to him more than anything.

Like she was a star, and he was an astronomer. Like she was a beautiful supernova that was worth anything to anyone to witness, and he had been lucky enough to see her by chance.

She _knew_ that the emotion wasn't supposed to be there; she just _knew_. But, yet, there it was in all it's glory. The emotion shined from his eyes at her, into her own.

Aspen pushed herself as far from the human as she could manage while staying on the couch, hissing in pain when her wrists burned at the rough movement. Regardless, her eyes stayed on the human in a death glare as she kept herself curled into a ball. The human - now bewildered - made a move toward her and she growled. "Stay _away_ from me!" She snarled, and bared her teeth in a threat. Ash looked at her with an assuring glance, and her eyes narrowed before flickering back to the human who was a little bit closer.

"I won't hurt you; you do realize that?" He said quietly, still meeting her gaze.

She hissed again, feral, and he sighed.

"Hugh..." Someone cautioned, and the voice was somewhat familiar. Then, the face of Jez Redfern emerged from the group as she came over slowly.

It was that simple name that send Aspen off the edge.

_Hugh_. Hugh...Hugh Davis!

Wait...how did she even know that?

Her form froze as this thought crossed her mind, and her eyes looked at the human - Hugh - and she couldn't speak above a whisper. Her mind, her body, more importantly her _lungs_ wouldn't allow it. She couldn't get enough air because it was all of the sudden hard to breathe.

"Who _are_ you?" She whispered, looking at the human. Aspen was aghast; she couldn't really make any sense of this. Not at all. But then again, how was she supposed to?

This situation was the worst to be in.

He looked at her evenly, ignoring Jez's warning, and was now almost to the couch.

"I'm Hugh, Hugh Davis. I'm a human and an Old Soul." He said, his voice smooth and she wanted to trust him. She felt the desperate _need_ to trust him.

_Why?_

And she knew that she _would_ trust him...if it weren't for the feeling that he was leaving something out in the information that he had provided her with. It was something important; she was sure of it. She was confused as to _how_ she knew this, though. It was frightening in it's own way; and she hated it. She was vulnerable with this fear; the fear of _him_. Hugh Davis. The Old Soul that seemed to just _look_ into her. Like he knew her or knew something about her that he appreciated. But she wasn't decent, she was anything but, and he was confusing and scaring her with this supposedly clear view of her. She didn't like it; she didn't like what he was doing to her. And something seemed to be pushing her, telling her to trust and care for him. It made him seem like he was the best thing for her.

She wanted to suffocate herself.

Hugh's eyes intrigued her, though, as much as they petrified her. She couldn't find it in herself to look away but she didn't want him anywhere near her, either.

"Umm...Hugh? What's going on?" A voice asked, light and bubbly but full of curiosity.

When Aspen chanced a glance - it was more difficult than she would've thought it to be to look away from Hugh - she saw that the speaker was a girl. A vampire girl. She had brilliant red hair and green eyes, with soft features. She almost reminded Aspen of how one would think of a fairy, or a pixie. Even an elf, really. But, as Aspen looked to the form standing close enough for it to be sworn protection, she felt her eyes widen a little.

James Rasmussen; a relative of hers.

It wasn't very hard to understand his manner towards the pixie-like girl; he cared for her. And he cared for her deeply, obviously. Aspen was tempted to label it as something she didn't believe in, but she quickly brushed that thought away and shook her head as she curled up into a tighter ball. The soulmate principle wasn't possible in her mind; why else would...? Would _who_ be dead? She couldn't find it in herself to remember the person; she already knew that the person was important and involved with her father. But who was it?

Her eyebrows furrowed as she thought, and she almost missed when Hugh gave the red-haired vampire in front of James a meaningful look between her and James.

She mouthed a silent 'oh' and then nodded.

A second later, James stiffened and a little bit of shock made it's way into his expression and usually fathomless eyes. The little vampire looked up at him with a large grin that Aspen was sure would hurt her if it stayed there. She looked away from them when James and the little vampire looked over at her, and she started hitting her head on her knees. "Fuck it, fuck it, fuck it, fuck it..." She muttered continually, and it seemed it was difficult for Ash not to at least chuckle at her behavior. She huffed, and then looked around the room for something that was _wood_ and _sharp_ so she could go over there and bang her head on _that_...

"I wouldn't look if I were you; the only thing around here like that are weapons and I guarantee that I won't allow you near them."

Her head snapped up and she looked at the speaker; which happened to be Hugh.

His face was an inch from hers.

Aspen quickly scrambled to get away from him, shoving herself off the couch and backing away from him. Hugh frowned at her, and she gulped.

"How do you know what I'm thinking?" She said, her voice shaking as he slowly left the couch and came toward her. He raised an eyebrow, and she huffed as she felt her heel graze a wall. It was too quick for her to hit a dead end, and she immediately dashed toward the couch. He moved with her, and she found herself cornered as he put his arm in front of her. She stopped a centimeter from his skin, and felt an overwhelming longing to touch him. By now, though, she knew better than to follow her gut and she looked at him with bewildered eyes. Then, the bewilderment soon turned to anger.

"Why won't anyone tell me _anything_? _How_ do you know what I'm thinking? And why won't you tell me the piece of information you left _out_?" She said, looked at him as her voice raised a few octaves.

Hugh looked at her, and a frown came to his lips again. She didn't like to see him sad - and mentally slapped her self when she thought this - and really wanted to try and find some way to make the frown disappear. Of course, she wasn't very good at cheering people up and found it unwise at the current moment to try and get rid of the frown.

He raised his hand and made a movement as to touch her, and she glared at his hand.

"_Don't touch me_!" She said, her voice almost a screech and she ducked under his arm and backed up defensively.

_Hugh_ was bewildered now as he looked at her, and he wasn't the only one. Aspen breaking down like this was a rare sight, and everyone else was silent as she glared at Hugh Davis with warning.

"If you even _attempt_ to touch me again, Hugh, I _swear_ on my life that I will murder you slowly and painfully." She hissed through her teeth and then shook her head as she went back and sat on the couch. She put her head in her hands, and felt beads of blood running down her arm. Her wrists were bleeding again from how she had acted, tense and harmful. Her eyes closed, and she sighed.

'_This is going to be hell._'


	8. Going 'Soft'

Thanks guys! I love your reviews and it just makes me want to write. Can you believe that I update this story faster than I've ever updated any other? It usually takes weeks and weeks for me to even get 2 chapters out.

Love you all even more for the encouragement. **:)**

Hope you enjoy it! (Aspen's POV, as always. **:)** )

Oh...btw...added something to my profile...my appearance...and my age...which is 13! :D Sorry...got bored... xD

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For the longest time, she merely sat there with her head in her hands. Her long hair was covering her face, so no one could see the conflicting emotions changing continuously. She didn't want to be weak; too bad that she didn't have a choice right now, though. Aspen felt...overwhelming hurt. Heartache. Depression, really, in general. Along with the sadness in her, though, was frustration.

It wasn't difficult to guess where _that_ came from.

So far, there were few people left in the room. Thankfully - for her own sake of control - Rashel and Quinn had left the room so the urge of murder wasn't tempting her. Even if Cas had been dead for a while now, that didn't mean that she would forget. Aspen had loved him...it was a very rare thing. Something that most thought would never happen. But now, there seemed to be a bigger secret that everyone but her seemed to know. It only amounted on what she was already dealing with. Sure, she shouldn't care...but it _involved _her, and she knew for a fact that it involved _Hugh_.

Who was sitting not 3 feet from her, and she could feel his intense gaze on her at the current moment.

She wanted to slap him.

He was always so..._infuriating_. To her, really. How could anyone else tolerate him when he just looked at them like - like -

_Like I - _he_ knows every single little detail about you and knows you're acting tough when really you're vulnerable?_

Her breathing stopped, and she froze up completely. She didn't look at Hugh, even though the voice in her head was _hauntingly_ sounding exactly like him and she wanted to see if he had reacted to it. Of course, she wasn't glancing at him for her stupid curiosity because she knew as soon as she did, she would lose her composure and not be able to look away...

She couldn't let that happen; she'd already had enough for today.

_And it was barely pass one in the morning_!

Her color-changing eyes stared at the dry blood on her arm. Aspen hadn't bothered to get rid of the blood; she'd get rid of it later.

"Aspen..." Hugh said softly, and she felt the heat from his reaching hand. She shook her head before turning it to him and glaring. "I wasn't joking earlier when I said that I would kill you, Hugh. I'm not scared of anyone here -" He interrupted her. "Except me." He said gently, and she narrowed her eyes at him. "No," She muttered, looking anywhere but at his eyes. Too bad that wasn't what he wanted. "Then look me in the eyes, and tell me that, Aspen." He said, and she glared at the air over his shoulder. Being stupid, though, she shifted her eyes until they met his own.

She had to be quick.

"I'm _not_ scared of..." She couldn't finish, because as she feared, she couldn't look away.

'_Damn it!_' She cursed mentally, and wanted to find a wooden knife and bang her head on it.

"Scared of what?" Hugh whispered, and she gulped as she tried to take her eyes away from his own. It was harder than anyone else would've ever believed it to be. And Aspen was wondering where in the hell this had come from, and why it was happening. Why was she so weak around Hugh? _Because_ of Hugh, more importantly? She was feeling herself being pulled closer and closer to him, to his stupid eyes that she couldn't seem to look away from...

She was lying to herself though; his eyes weren't stupid. Not at all.

"Stop."

Her voice was a mere whisper, and she wanted to hit herself and _him_.

Hugh sighed, and his hand was closer and almost touching her. "I'm not doing anything, Aspen. But...I could explain everything to you. Do you _want _me to explain?" He said, and from the corner of her eye she saw Ash glance over at them with interest. She ignored Ash, and looking at Hugh suspiciously. "How would you explain?" She said slowly, and he seemed to be even closer now. Her eyes shifted to a light pink, and they gleamed at him. He smiled, and she gulped.

"It's harder to explain; why don't I show you?" He said, his hand hovering right over her arm.

Aspen realized what he was talking about _now_.

"No!" She immediately yanked herself back and as far from him as she could manage in the limited space. Then she yelped as she crushed and rubbed her wrist - the other one had almost been completely healed - against the exterior of the couch. She closed her eyes, and felt tears from the pain make their way. She didn't dare let them run down her cheeks. Instead of opening her eyes, she spoke. "Ash, _please_." She said, her voice quiet and she heard him sigh. "Depends; will you almost kill me again?" He said, his voice sour and she huffed. "I hadn't been able to feed for 2 weeks, then, Ash. I've told you this time and time again. The only thing I _can't _tell you is where I was in that time. If you don't trust me, fine. But, I won't be healing anytime soon." She said, shrugging and then leaned her head back.

It was quiet for the longest of times, and she could sense Ash thinking about this. Help her, or just let her heal incredibly slow with the increased amount of time because she would end up getting hurt from her feisty attitude and want to get away from Hugh...?

She knew when Ash had come to a decision.

"Fine...but don't use your fangs, I about lost my arm last time, Aspen." He said, joking half-heartedly. She gave a small smile. "2 weeks." She said simply, and he sighed and shook his head. "I'm gonna find out where you were and what you were doing eventually, Aspen Zylphia." He murmured before growing out his fangs and biting into his wrist lightly to get the blood flowing. Ash held it out toward her, and she gingerly took his forearm. "I'll take a little, I promise." Aspen said, and gave a small smile. It was apologetic; and Ash knew what she was apologizing for. She knew that _he_ knew.

If she took too much blood, she was sorry. He could tell she meant it, and she did.

Carefully, without growing out her fangs, she put her lips to the spot on his wrist where the blood was running. She tasted the warm, rich liquid and was hesitant as she started drinking. Her fangs were wanting to sharpen at the taste of the dulcet substance, but she made them refrain from appearing.

She didn't want to hurt Ash.

Not _again_, that is.

Even as she was drinking, Aspen could feel her wrists starting a steady healing. She was sure that she could stop right now, but she was going to take a little more to be sure...

But that was when she noticed something.

Her mind wasn't connecting with Ash's...she wasn't blocking her mind either. Or at least, not consciously...but as she poked around a little she found that there was something _else_ blocking her mind from Ash's and confusion overwhelmed her. It was a gentle field...almost like a small light that was gleaming to make sure that her mind couldn't be seen.

There was only _one_ person who she could imagine that being.

Aspen pulled away from Ash's wrist slowly, and made sure to quickly lick the injury - if you could call it that - to clean it and make it heal a lot quicker. She licked her lips, and scrunched her nose a little.

"What?" Ash said, and he sounded offended. "Does my blood taste weird or something?" He said, and she laughed as she rolled her eyes. Ash was worried about his blood not tasting good; that's nice. Ask a vampire that...who loves blood...He is _so_ smart. She thumped him upside the head lightly, being playful as she smirked at him. As she thought for a moment, she had to resist the temptation to mess with him. "No, you're blood is fine." She said lightly. Really, though, she couldn't resist to just mess with him a _little_...

"But, it's tasting kinda floral...honestly, Ash, what the fuck?" She said, scrunching her nose is fake distaste.

His eyes widened and she smiled at him innocently.

Ash narrowed his eyes at her, and then a smirk came to his lips. He knew she was joking..._now_, that is. A small laugh came from her lips before she was full-out laughing. "Not funny, Aspen. Is this funny?" He said, and then Ash was straddling her and tickling her. Now, Aspen was laughing because she was very ticklish. "A-Ash - you a-a-ass_hole_!" She sputtered, and squirmed underneath him with giggles erupting from her. He smirked even wider, and she tried to hit him but then he pinned her arms down and she wasn't being tickled anymore.

"Nice, Aspen. You've really gotten a lot worse with defenses. Are you going soft?" Ash said, raising an eyebrow at her.

She rolled her eyes, and then bucked her hips and as he started wobbling, she grinned. She turned her body and he got dumped on the floor with her on top and straddling _him_. When he moved to push her off, she easily pinned his hands above his head by his wrists with one hand, and then smirked down at him.

"Going soft, am I?" She murmured, and then laughed as she kissed his forehead.

"It's alright, my great great - how every many greats - nephew. You'll learn in due time." She mocked, but not about the nephew thing.

She was Hunter Redfern's too-many-greats-for-her-to-care aunt or something...she couldn't remember.

Ash was Hunter's son; it was simple.

She pressed on his wrists when she stood up, and then circled around him - crouched - before releasing him. He scoffed, and sat up immediately shaking his head. "Don't use that against me, Aspen. You're my age; it doesn't make you wiser." He pointed out and she gave a toothy grin. "I'm older!" She pointed out, and he scowled and a laugh came from her lips. "Not by much, Aspen." He muttered, and then ran his fingers through his hair. "And you say _I'm_ going soft, Ash? May I ask why you're in Circle Daybreak? Or is it too obvious?" She said. Ash didn't say anything.

"A human soulmate is my guess; it's the same for my sister, Jessamine. Remember her?" She said, and Ash sighed.

"Exactly that."

His voice was quiet and she sighed. Then, hoisting herself onto the couch, and lightly ran her fingers through Ash's hair in a motherly fashion.

"So, when did it happen?" She said lightly, and Ash looked up at her with what she could only describe as an innocent child's face. "Do you really want to know?" He said in a small voice, looking away from her with what was almost shame. A small laugh came from her, and he sulked.

"Of course I do, Ash." She said, and he stiffened a little in what she was thinking shock. Aspen continued speaking anyways, still running her fingers through his hair. "If a girl - human or anything else - has caught your heart, I want to hear about her. She must be quite the character if she fell for you." She said, and was smiling a little. Ash falling in love - she'd never thought it would happen. Of course, now there was something horribly obvious that she felt stupid for not guessing at until now. A frown graced her lips and she sighed.

"She is the reason you've been away from me for a year, isn't she?"

Aspen's voice was soft.

There was no one else in the room besides the three at the couch: Aspen, Ash and Hugh. She was glad for this, because then she could actually be the good person that Ash knew well. Surprisingly, she didn't care that Hugh was there and hearing and seeing all of this. He was almost...a comfortable presence for both her and Ash. Ash seemed fine with Hugh there; it was easier than breathing for Aspen.

"Ya."

That was all Ash said, and that was all she needed to hear.

She huffed, feeling guilt overwhelm her now and from a few feet away, Hugh flinched. Regardless of his odd reactions, she ignored him and hugged Ash lightly. She rested her chin on top of Ash's head, and felt him pat her arms lightly. "Sorry." She said, kissing the top of his head.

For her, Ash was more like a little brother or just a regular brother; right now, it was the little brother. He was hurt and she could easily sense it. Otherwise, he would've shoved her away from him at this very moment and said that he was fine. He wasn't doing that...not at all. It was kind of...weird. Oddly weird in an odd way. Her eyes changed to a soft green, and she hugged Ash closer. "You know, if anyone else besides you and Hugh saw me like this, I would probably have to kill them." She said conversationally and it had the desired affect; Ash chuckled. Her lips pulled up into a grin and she squeezed Ash tightly before releasing him and going back to running her fingers through his hair. "Ya...probably." Ash said, a chuckle coming from him again. It was completely quiet in the room for the moment before Hugh spoke.

"You know, I never really believed you two were completely bad." He said, and Aspen rolled her eyes.

"We're only nice to each other, really. And few others." She said, and shrugged.

Hugh smiled a little, and she rolled her eyes again and hit him lightly on the leg. She was forgetting why she was in the least scared of him. It was odd.

"You know what's gonna suck?" She said lightly, and a lilting smile appeared on her lips.

"What?"

It was Ash who answered her.

"You guys are _really_ gonna hate me if you try to talk some sense about not killing humans or anything of the sort to me. I won't listen, and you'll get a huge bitch to deal with when that time comes." She said, and laughed lightly to herself. Ash was quiet, then he spoke. "Nah, I don't think so. We have a secret weapon to help us out." He said, smug, and she had a feeling he was smirking. She shook her head, and scoffed. "Like what? You, Ash? Not even you would be able to control me or calm me down." She said, laughed lightly.

_Your soulmate_.

The voice was in her mind and it sounded _exactly_ like Hugh, who was looking at her expectantly.

And she went right back to being in a ball and hitting her head on her knees.


	9. Not Thinking

So much muse…

Aspen's POV...

You know the drill...

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*** * * 2 days later * * * **

Aspen sat, now still, in the dark bedroom that she now occupied. The door was a solid wood, and locked.

Sadly, the Daybreakers were smart enough to not leave her any resources to pick the lock from this side of the door. '_Ash probably told them,_' She thought, and sighed as she lay back onto the surprisingly comfortable bed. Her hair flayed out around her face as she stared up at the canopy that was hanging from her bed posts. A frown came to her lips as she let her head lull to the side. Aspen closed her eyes stubbornly. She really wished that she felt like sleeping; then she could escape to the darkness of her mind. Though, it was a warmer place than she had last remembered, but there was one thing that made her reluctant to sleep.

Hugh.

He had been in her most recent dream, and had been trying to convince her of something. It saddened her when she remembered that she never found out what he was talking about. She had woke up to Ash entering the room.

Another thing that she noticed was that there was nothing that could be too lethal to her in the room.

"Ugh..." She groaned, and then huffed.

Right now, the littlest thing that she wanted was to have someone here with her so she wouldn't be completely alone.

She lay there on the bed, her eyes closed, for a long time. She wasn't sure how long, but her exile of silence was interrupted when the soft click of the door opening sounded. Keeping still, she kept her breathing even as she heard the door close again. The person came toward her, and then sat on the bed at her side.

"I know you're awake, Aspen."

'_Damn it_,' She thought, and opened her eyes to see Hugh Davis sitting there. His gray eyes bore into her own, and she frowned. "Why're you here, Hugh?" She said, looking away from him and at the ceiling. From the corner of her eye, she saw him sigh. "To finish explaining what I couldn't last night." He said, and she couldn't breathe for a moment. Then, she sat up and was looking at him in a vicious glare. "Hugh Davis, how in the hell did you enter my dreams? Do you know how stupid of you that is?" She said harshly, narrowing her eyes. He shrugged a little, but his gaze didn't leave her. A small smile came to his lips, and she hissed lowly at the appearance. "Are you really sure you don't know yourself, Aspen?" He said, and then the crystal clear mental voice that sounded like him came around.

_Because you aren't stupid; I know that. Did you really not guess?_

She scooted back, and curled up into a ball against the headboard. Her eyes were trained on him, and she didn't dare look away.

"It's not possible. Not for me. Not at _all_, Hugh. Don't lie to yourself; you know it can't be true...it just _can't_..." She said, but even as she spoke her words grew less confident in the belief she'd been raised on.

The soulmate principle; most of the time it happened with a Night Person and human. But, Aspen couldn't be soulmates with Hugh. _She just couldn't_. She didn't want to end up in a similar situation that her mother was in...except for her, it would be so much worse because she would actually have to be in _love_ with a human. And that was just..._repulsive_.

'_If it was anyone but Hugh_,' A little voice in her head said and she shoved it away.

"I'm not lying to myself or you, Aspen. The connection was made when you were unconscious, and it still remains right now. The only thing that you would have to do is accept it." Hugh said gently, and reached toward her. Before she could get away from him, his hand closed upon her wrist.

And everything turned bright.

_HUGH!_ She shouted in anger, but it was in her mind. She felt him flinch at her tone, but nonetheless he was still there. Everything exploded into light around her, and then she saw him.

He was coming toward her, and as she headed toward him quickly - out of anger - she felt their minds merge completely. His mind burst around her own, and then was cradling her own gently in a loving way. She wanted to just fall and drift here with him, but she was _mad_. She could tell Hugh sensed this, because he was already thinking of ways to calm her down the closer he came to her. On the outside of their minds, she felt herself collapse and go into his arms. Hugh encircled her in his arms, and she felt herself nestle her head in the crook of his neck.

She ignored the warmth that overwhelmed her at this feeling.

_What is the matter with you? I DON'T WANT THIS! _Aspen sent to him, and he sighed mentally. _I'm not doing this to be rude, Aspen. _A flutter arose in her thoughts at him saying her name; whether it was just in their combined thoughts or not. He continued on, though his own mind brightened as this surge of happiness went through her own. _This was _meant_ to be, whether you want to face it or not. And..._ There was a throb in his mind, and it made her flinch mentally at his agony. _I want you to just accept it...I care about you...and the more you deny it...the more I lose. Do you have any idea how potent this connection is between us? It's as vulnerable as it is strong. And the more you push me away...the more it hurts me. As it hurts me, it hurts you. Do you really want that?_ He thought to her, and the immense depressing and hurt with that thought sent her graveling for her anger.

Aspen could _feel_ how much it hurt him, and it was so great that she about lost her bearings. Not even she had felt as much hurt from anything...like _this_. Just losing _her_ sent him into a deep depression that had him sinking lower and lower into darkness that she desperately wanted to stop.

_You don't even know **why** I deny you, Hugh. You -_

_Yes, I do._ He interrupted, and she didn't even begin to feel irritation. She let him continue; but she found herself speechless - or _thoughtless_, rather - as he went on. _When you were unconscious - before you forgot everything - I accidentally touched you, and we made the connection then. You were so close to giving in then, and then I screwed up. I accidentally went back to a really bad memory, to when your mother was murdered by the Council, and you got mad at me. You kicked me out, and then didn't awaken for about 4 days. I knew what had happened, and I've been fighting hard to get you to trust me and let me apologize. Even if you don't remember it._

Her breath caught in her actual body, and she swore she felt Hugh kiss the top of her head and a small bit of moisture fall onto her cheek.

_Hugh..._

_I'm sorry, more sorry than I ever have been in all of my lives. I didn't mean to upset you, or hurt you, and I really, truly, am sorry. I didn't ever mean you any harm._

_Hugh..._

_You don't have to forgive me, I'd understand if you didn't. I did a terrible thing and -_

_HUGH!_

He was quiet, and didn't apologize anymore as all of his thoughts disappeared. His concentration was on her, and she felt her heart beat oddly in her actual body.

_Don't be sorry...I forgive you. I probably overreacted, anyway. You don't have to be so guilty for something you couldn't control. Curiosity isn't a bad thing; you were simply worried about me when you went to go see what was so bad. _I forgive you_. Just...just calm down...I don't like you being sad._

In her actual body, Aspen felt herself wrap her arms around him tightly in an embrace. He could feel the truth of her words, and he could also feel how desperate she was to make him happier; lighter.

Carefully, it seemed, his arms tightened around her more securely and he rested his head on hers. "I'm sorry." He whispered in his real body, and she just nodded a little. Her head nestled even more comfortably in the crook of his neck and she sighed, sending her breath against his neck. He shivered, not out of anything but happiness and pleasure. The happiness radiating from him, at merely holding her in his arms, was overwhelming and Aspen secured her mind with his own snugly. She had finally found it in herself to accept the bond - the connection - between them. But that didn't necessarily mean that she was going to be all happy-go-lucky and fall in love with him and just _be_ his soulmate like _that_...

_I know_. Hugh acknowledged, and she hadn't been aware that he had been listening in on her pondering thoughts.

_And you're fine with that?_ She thought, hesitant and she turned her head away from him in reality. It was starting to get tempting to either bite him or kiss him; she couldn't decide.

_Absolutely; but I wouldn't mind your ideas..._ He thought, and she felt her cheeks heat up on her real body. _I'd rather avoid them, Hugh. I could either lead you on, or hurt you. Or kill you, actually._ She said nervously, but it didn't seem to faze him. Aspen only just figured out why right before he spoke. _It doesn't matter if you kill me; I'd probably be back again in around a decade or two. Maybe less...but still._ He said, and he didn't seem the least bit woried.

She wanted to hit him again.

Even if she didn't hit him, a hiss came from her - in her mind and from her actual body. Hugh rubbed her back lightly, and she huffed as she buried her head in his chest.

"_Don't even think about it, Hugh. I'd rather not risk killing you; so no, I'm not going to drink your blood even if it _is_ tempting me._" She said, aloud and mentally. He sighed, and kissed her on the top of her head again. A small sigh of content came from her: she felt warm in his embrace and mind. _But you drank Ash's blood; mine would be better if you needed it._ Hugh reasoned, and she shook her head slightly - impatiently. _That's because Ash's blood would heal me quicker, and I know that I actually wouldn't kill him by merely getting a taste of his blood. With you, I'd probably kill you within a few moments if not sooner. Don't even try to convince me because I'd rather not kill someone while I'm on probation. Plus...do you really want me to hurt you? Because, it'll hurt me too. I hope you realize that. And I'll tell you this now; I'm not sadistic, let alone masochistic. That last thing I would want is to hurt you and myself in one moment._ Aspen thought, and sighed as she slowly pulled herself from his mind.

She was reluctant.

Even as she came back to her own senses, she still felt the strong connection and could still hear some thoughts coming from Hugh. She ignored them, though, as a blush colored her pale cheeks. Hugh hugged her to him, and she rested her head in the crook of his neck again.

Lightly - almost shyly - she turned her head up and kissed under his jaw.

Then, with a sigh, she buried her face back in the crook of his neck and closed her eyes. He rested his head on her own again, and the next thing she knew, they were both laying down and she had her head on his chest and he had his arms around her - more specifically her waist.

"This is so odd." Aspen murmured, and sighed. Hugh laughed lightly, and a small smile came to her lips at the sound. "Kind of. Never in any of my lives has this happened...but I'm glad it did. _Finally_." He said gently, and she felt his lips on her forehead.

She felt her smile grow as she lifted her head, her hair cascading over her shoulder and covering her eyes a little bit. Her eyes were light as they looked at him, and changed from the current deep violet to a bright yellow. "I kind of noticed that, Hugh. I just didn't know the _real_ reason until...well...I don't know when I exactly knew. Either yesterday, or just a few minutes ago. Or possibly some time in between. But..." She bit her lower lip, and her eyes shifted to a green-gold color. "I'm kind of glad it happened, regardless of if it's going to come back around and make me regret it. Which it will, eventually. I know it will." She said, and her smile softened as it turned sad.

"Not if I have anything to say about it."

Hugh's voice was soft and she shook her head, and then lay her head back on his chest. "I'm not sure you'd be able to do anything, Hugh. I warned Cassius of this when we first began our relationship; and look how he turned up." She whispered, and closed her eyes. Hugh stroked her hair lightly, and sighed. "Unlike him, I can come back. And I know so much more...he might not have been prepared."

She buried her face even deeper in Hugh's chest, and huffed.

"I _don't_ want to talk about it, Hugh; I don't want to talk about - about _him_." Her voice broke, and she felt her eyes sting as the tears came. She pulled her head away from him, and didn't even look at him as the tears spilled over her porcelain cheeks. Aspen shakily raised her hand and wiped them away. A warm hand was there as well, and she felt some tears being wiped away before her face was turned toward Hugh. Her now amber colored eyes were looking at him with tears continuing to fill them. "I'm sorry...I just..." She gave a pathetic smile, but it quickly faded as she sniffled.

"Sorry..."

"It's _fine_, Aspen."

She gulped, and looked at him. More tears welled up in her eyes, and ran down her cheeks. "I'm terrible." She said, giving a small laugh that was half a sob. A sad smile was on her lips, and she shook her head. "Sorry...I just...regret some things..." She managed, and buried her head in his shoulder. "Shh..." He shushed her gently, and she felt him lightly pull her to where she had to face him. "You're not terrible, Aspen. And everyone regrets _something_ sometime in their life; you just have enough guts to admit that you regret things you had or hadn't done." Hugh said softly, and his gray eyes were looking into her now brown ones. Her eyes watched his own as he did the same, and she felt the connection between them humming with their life forces. She felt warm, and thankful. For having someone like Hugh with her right now; to calm her down from going into hysterics.

Aspen wasn't thinking as she leaned forward and lightly pressed her lips against his own.

* * *

**Hey guys! I'm thinking about writing a graphic scene...should I? Then it would be 'M'...Review or message me with your thoughts! Should I, or shouldn't I?**


	10. Warmth

Okay, so I decided to do something with the graphic scene dilemma I'm having:

I'll write a clean version and actually post it to the story (this one) – but then I'll write the graphic one and post it as a separate story. If you want to read it, go to my stories and I'll put in the 'summary' what it is. K?

Now, on with Aspen and Hugh! :D (this is my fave couple to write about now xD )

Aspen's POV - of course :) There might be a Hugh's POV soon, k? Btw, it's really, really short because the other version is really long. the other one is over 5,000 words...so...ya. ^.^ Sorry! :(

* * *

As her lips met his own, she felt their minds come together completely once again. Aspen felt Hugh kissing her back, gently - as she had expected.

It was hard _not_ to feel Hugh's surprise at her action - kissing him, which she had just told him she wouldn't do willingly - but she could also feel how he couldn't deny her, regardless. _I'm really indecisive._ She commented, and a small smile grew on her lips as she put her arms lightly on his shoulders before linking them behind his neck. _Obviously._ He said briefly, and she giggled against his lips. She felt his lips curve into a small smile, and she brought herself closer to him. Her arms wrapped completely around his neck and she pressed herself against him. It was odd how she was almost _desperate_ for the contact at the moment after she didn't even want this...

_I have a question, though, Aspen._ Hugh thought, and her thoughts grew jumbled at her name coming from him. He laughed lightly in his mind, and she felt him lightly press a hand to the small of her back.

She felt warm at the affectionate contact.

_Ya?_ She said distractedly as she nibbled on his bottom lip teasingly. He chuckled against her lips, and denied her.

_What_ do_ you want?_ He thought, and she felt her thoughts go reeling. What did she want? That question was...far too confusing. How could such a simple question confuse her so much? She should know what she wanted...and now she knew why she couldn't come up with it.

It was something she was _more_ than merely _familiar_ with...but Hugh was so innocent...she couldn't do that...No, no...Not at all...

Why didn't she feel very guilty at the thought?

She felt Hugh's confusion before he got what she was thinking of with a clarity. _Aspen..._ He said slowly, and she started pulling away. Her eyes opened and looked into his gray ones, and the connection remained. She could see the colors of her own eyes reflecting in Hugh's. They were a light purple that was silverish, and at that second changed to a silver-white color before settling with blue hues with that hint of silver. "Sorry..." she muttered, and her currently royal blue eyes glanced over his shoulder. Then, she just lay back down as she went quiet. '_Huh...so this is what rejection feels like._' She thought vaguely, not really pondering over it. At that moment, there was a weight over her and she met a familiar pair of gray eyes.

"I never said no, you know." Hugh murmured, smiling a little before he kissed her lightly.

*** * * Later * * ***

"Okay, Hugh. Come on. Get dressed." She murmured, kissing his chest lightly before getting up. He frowned, but reluctantly sat up. Aspen looked around the room and found his clothes. She threw them at him, and he caught each and every article of clothing. As he dressed, she went to the dark dresser in the corner of the room and grabbed some undergarments and then went to the second drawer for some shorts. Finally, she went back to the first drawer and dug around until she managed to find a gray tube top.

She didn't feel like dressing in her previous clothes - she was still warm.

By the time she turned back to the bed, Hugh was laying there, and the bed was...neat. It looked as if someone had just ironed the sheets and the only crinkles were around Hugh. Aspen smiled a little, and then sauntered over to the bed before laying down next to Hugh. "Ash is going to know; I'm sure of that." She murmured, curling up against Hugh's side. She put one arm over his torso, and tightened it to bring her closer. She felt Hugh shrug, and she closed her eyes and snuggled him closer. He was stroking her hair lightly, and she sighed. "I don't really care about that at the moment." He said, and she felt his lips on her forehead.

A smile came to her lips. "Well, I'm kind of tired." She said, and a small yawn came from her.

"Same here, Aspen. I think we could use a nap." Hugh murmured, and then all that was left to Aspen was a warmer darkness that opened up to a light.

Sleep.


	11. Bickering

Sorry for taking so long! I've been busy x.x

Aspen's POV ^.^

* * *

As she awoke, Aspen felt very warm. She also felt someone's arm around her...and then she remembered.

A warm blush colored her cheeks.

Carefully, she slid from Hugh's restraining arm, and then got off the bed silently. Thank goodness this was natural for her - for her _kind_ - and she didn't make any noise as she took little steps toward the dresser in the corner of 'her' room. She didn't know how long she was going to be here; she didn't know whether or not she should actually call the room hers or not. '_Oh well,_' she thought, and winced at the loudness of the thought. She didn't want to wake up Hugh...'_No thinking,_' she thought, and clenched her teeth as she slid the second drawer open and pulled out some jeans.

'_I wonder when they stocked this dresser..._' A part of her mind wondered loudly, and she huffed quietly before slipping off her shorts and hurrying to get the jeans on. She dived at the floor, opening the third drawer, and just grabbed a shirt at random.

Aspen didn't want to think - the smallest thought could be enough to awaken Hugh.

He was human...he needed more sleep than she did.

'_I think...?_' She wondered consciously, and hit her forehead with her hand. "This is _way_ to difficult." She murmured to herself as she slipped the tube top from her body and replaced it with a short sleeve. She yanked her fingers through her mess of curly-waves of hair and was about the growl at the irritation from her hair, then stopped herself. She wanted Hugh to sleep. '_No making noise...or thinking,_' she thought, snarling the last part. She turned and headed back to the bed as quietly as she could manage. Almost hesitantly, she lay herself back down next to Hugh.

A small squeak came from her when he wrapped his arm around her tightly and pulled her against him.

Hugh chuckled.

"So, how long have you been awake?" Aspen asked, huffing as she turned so she facing him. He raised an eyebrow at her, and then he actually thought for a moment. She could hear him.

_5 minutes...or 10? Hmm...No, I think it was 5..._

She smiled sheepishly and he pulled her closer for a moment to kiss her on the forehead before she heard him chuckle and pull away.

"You know, it's pretty amusing to hear you fight with yourself to try and let me sleep. Nice effort, though; I appreciate it." He said, and she met his gaze. His light gray eyes were amused, serene, but she didn't see anything about him being tired. Then again...he kind of _was_ a Daybreaker - he probably was used to any sort of lack of sleep. Everyone was out to get Circle Daybreak; you always had to be alert.

Aspen should've known better.

A small sigh came from her lips and she closed her eyes, scooting till she was as close as she could manage at the moment. "I'm not very good at being _nice_, Hugh. Don't tease me in the slightest." She said, her voice quiet. "Please?" She tacked on, almost desperate. Being nice; the last thing she is good at. Certain people were able experience her actual _caring_ because they had a certain meaning to her and she had known them for a while. Like Ash, for an example. She had grown up with him, he knew she had a nice side. Of course, Ash was almost an always an ass when she was nice. He most of the time he mocked her about it, they fought, she hurt him and then he apologized from the apprehension of her possibly killing him if he continued taunting her. It was still difficult for her to begin to be nice to Hugh; soulmate or not.

_Damn it..._

_What's wrong?_

Somehow, Aspen had blocked her thoughts from Hugh in that long moment of thought. But now, as the wall faded a little, he could feel the stress radiating from her very being. _He was worried about her._ She could kill him.

Yet he was worried about _her well-being_

Was he stupid?

_You know, you're not helping me at all right now, Aspen._ He thought weakly, and she growled a few curse words under her breath.

_Well, you honestly shouldn't be worried about me. I could _kill_ you - right now - and all you're worried about is the status of whether or not _I'm_ okay. Really, are you insane or something? Stupid? Or just _that_ selfless?_

He shrugged a little, and sighed. Then, he turned so he was laying on his back. Aspen immediately sought to get closer from the small loss of contact, and lay her head on his chest.

_I don't know. I just like to see the good in everyone; you don't scare me very much. Everyone can be good; most beings deserve to have someone care. So, are you okay or not?_

_I don't know, Hugh. I just don't know. That good enough?_

_Don't lie to me, Aspen._

_I'm not. I'm telling you the truth. You may _think_ I'm lying, but I really don't know consciously. Unconsciously...maybe._

_Aspen..._

_Please leave it alone, Hugh. For now. Okay?_

_No._

_**Hugh**..._

_I'm not going to argue about this._

_You aren't my father, Hugh. You don't control me._

Those were the words that brought them from their minds and back to the _real_ world. Aspen felt his eyes on her. "That's not what I was trying to do. You _know_ that. Don't try to make me the bad guy here, Aspen. I'm only trying to help you. And if you keep trying to make an argument out of everything I do...well, where the hell does that leave us?" Hugh said, and she shrugged a little. "I'm not one to accept help, Hugh. You should _know_ this by now." She said stubbornly, and he sighed heavily. "You think accepting help makes you _weak_." He sad softly, and she shrugged again.

"It doesn't."

"Yes it does."

For once, her voice was quiet and emotionless. She heard Hugh start to take a breath to reply, but she opened her eyes and looked at him. He closed his mouth - which had opened to speak - and looked at her expectantly.

"I learned that accepting help is the worst thing you can do in the past year."

His eyes closed and he leaned his head back.

Aspen watched Hugh with a calm, steady gaze.

"There was nothing you could've done, Aspen. Rashel had already been after Cassius for a while; he was a threat. She would've killed him, regardless of if you had met him before then. You were on her list too; it's a miracle you're still alive today." He said plainly, and she sighed. "I kind of wish I wasn't. My father is who knows where without a care about me, my mother is dead, and the only other person who really understood anything about me died because I wasn't alert enough. I was too arrogant. I thought we could handle it; but it just didn't work out that way. I suggested that we go to kill those humans; it was all on me. He would still be alive right now if I hadn't suggested that."

"You wouldn't of seen Ash again so early; you wouldn't of met me if you hadn't of made that decision, Aspen." Hugh said, trying to lighten her mood.

It didn't really help too much.

"So? I was happy with my old life. Everyone after me for one reason or another. I never had any time to think about how terrible my life really was; I never had to think about what happened to my mother, or worry about my father. I never had to think about being as lonely as I was. There were no worries except for fighting, feeding, and traveling. Now...I'm just like a caged animal. No where to go; and just...stuck. You don't know what that feeling is like." She said, and sighed as she scooted away from him.

Her mind was shifting through all of the memories of her old life. Clubs...friends...no rules.

There was nothing left for her now.

"Aspen..." Hugh said, and she felt the heat from his hand start reaching toward her. "Don't. I don't even want you to _try_ to sympathize with me to try and make me feel better. I'm fine, okay? Now, will you please leave? I'm considering harming you, right now." She said harshly.

"No."

"_Hugh_." She hissed, sitting up and glaring at him. He sat up as well, and looked at her. When he didn't make a move, she shoved him off the bed. He yelped a little, but got up. "Aspen -" "**Out**." She said sharply. "But -" She climbed to the other side of the bed, and then stood up in front of him. "Out. Now." She said, pointing at the door. "You'll have to make me." He said simply, and she raised an eyebrow. "You're _really_ gonna hate me for this, you know?" She said, and kicked him hard in the shin. "_Ow_." He hissed, and limped a few steps back. She hadn't noticed - or acknowledged - until now that he already had a slight limp.

_Well, I'm gonna make that limp of yours _worse_ if you don't **leave**_. She growled in her mind, and narrowed her eyes at him. "You know, fear won't always work for you." Hugh said, actually _glaring_ at her. Her jaw tensed, and she looked back at him with a cold glare to match his own.

"If that was true, then I wouldn't be alive right now." Aspen said sharply, and aimed another kick at him.

Hugh kicked her leg back and she huffed a bit before sitting on her bed. "Why must you be so stubborn?" Hugh said, running his hand through his blond-or-light-brown hair. The multi-colored eyes that were her own narrowed at him.

"Because you're so _infuriating_." She said, stressing the adjective that she used for _him_.

That was far from what everyone else thought of him, she was sure, but his always serene or determined manner was getting on her nerves.

'_How could I even have a soulmate that is my complete opposite?_' She wondered.

Hugh heard her.

_Maybe because that would be _best _for you; ever think of that?_ He said, being a smartass.

_And maybe it is just to make sure that I **KILL** myself._ She snapped, and he was momentarily silent for a moment.

Immediately, she felt bad.

"Umm...sorry." She muttered, grimacing as she huffed. Aspen saw the slight movement of his shoulders and torso - a shrug. "I doubt that's why." He said, seemingly ignoring her apology. In her mind, though, she could tell that he appreciated her apology - regardless. To anyone else, it would have been very difficult to apologize. Sadly, Hugh's pain was her own so she was as good as _forced_ to apologize to ease her own ache of heart.

A sigh made it's way from her lips and she looked at Hugh with hopeless eyes.

"Why do we always go from getting along to fighting?" She said, thwarting to previous subject with one she would much rather discuss. Her lips curved down into a frown.

"I don't know, Aspen. We're complete opposites; like you've already acknowledged. This is probably supposed to happen - the only issue is that we shouldn't fight so much if we're soulmates. It's not helping the situation of adjusting."

_I'm sorry._ Aspen apologized feebly in her mind. It was the most direct link for him to believe her.

He had to believe her.

_It's fine; it's as weird for you as it is for me. I've had centuries of nothing like this and now - it's like a 50 year old adjusting to texting. Except a lot worse._

She laughed - in her mind and aloud.

_I'm not use to having to stick to one person, to one relationship, et cetra. It's like trying to stop someone from smoking and to get them on some stupid patch...it takes a while to adjust. But that had been my life for...about 4 or 5 years now. I'm almost sad that you Daybreakers won't hunt me anymore; I enjoyed taunting you guys._

Hugh rolled his eyes, and came to sit by her.

_You're masochistic and sadistic; that's obvious. Why do you consider your death so much it's a game?_

_Don't ask - it's the way I was raised after my mother died._

She flinched a little at mentioning that, but Hugh took her hand and rubbed his thumb on the back of her hand soothingly. Aspen leaned into his side, and she felt his other hand rub her back lightly.

_I don't really like the sounds of your father - Red Fern, right?_

_He meant well, really - I think._ She was puzzled for a moment as she pondered the idea of her father actually meaning well. It was a confusing concept but it still applied in her mind. _He took care of me; he actually bothered to make sure that I could protect myself and actually make it in the world that I was raised in. The Night World is tougher than it seems; you Daybreakers make it seem like a cup of tea to survive in. Like having that _filthy_ scum Rashel the Cat infiltrate the bloodfeast so 'simply'. You don't really think that everything is always going to be that easy if you have the slightest bit of experience, do you?_

_Of course not. I've had too many lives so I've learned that many times over; don't doubt my knowledge even if I _am_ human, Aspen._

_Sure, Hugh. Sure I won't._

_Humans aren't as stupid as you think, you know. We're actually just as smart as you are._

_Most of the time **your** kind is so oblivious and easy to control, it's not even fun to kill any of you._

_So? Your kind is too arrogant to understand that we could corrupt you in an instant. You're not all powerful and invincible._

_Too late; humans are already taking over too much for my liking._

_Ugh...you are full of it._

_Sure._

_There you go again...so _stubborn_._

_I'm only stating the facts you refuse to take any blame for. You're human; do you have any idea what your kind does to mine? Even those that aren't doing anything to bother any of you in the slightest without screwing up. Taking humans that no one would miss; killing criminals for the better; killing out-of-control werewolves that are more likely to kill a population of your kind. Why can't you just understand that some are innocent?_

Hugh was silent, and she pulled herself away from him and distanced herself from him. She lay down on the bed, and stared at the ceiling.

_Unlike everyone else, I at least want to _try_ to give those who are 'evil' a chance. I don't like killing, no matter what the species. Don't blame me for others' mistakes; they are not my own._

Aspen sighed.

She had sensed something like this was coming on; Hugh was too pure to really kill anyone without some guilt in him at the action. It caused some respect for him to develop even more so than it already had unconsciously for her. Her lips pursed, and she thought for a moment as he took in her view on him.

He wasn't denying it, at least.

_Maybe because I'm tired of fighting; even if there hasn't been enough time to really find myself sick of it. Answer me truthfully, Aspen: do you like fighting with me at all? Or does it just depress you like it does me?_

That question was difficult for her, and she struggled slightly when coming up with an answer. Most of the time, fighting with someone was something that she rather enjoyed. It didn't bother her. Then again, that was someone else; not Hugh. Did it hurt her to fight with Hugh? Or did she enjoy it? Maybe it was something in between hating it and loving it at the same time. It reminded her of how she felt about him; hating him and loving him at the same time. Or at least, being fond of him.

She tried to convince herself that she was merely fond of him. Nothing more.

Too bad she didn't succeed; and that therefore decided her answer to his question.

Hugh had been listening the whole entire time.

'_Great. But at least I don't have to explain..._'

He sighed, and she turned her head to him slightly. Her indecisive eyes looked at him, in red-violet hues before fading to mossy green hues. She was confused in every way possible. It bothered her, but there really wasn't much that she could do about it if she wanted to.

Did she want to?

Her thoughts stopped at that question, at that one thought that she so desperately needed to consider. And soon. Just not when Hugh was close enough to hear every consideration from her mind. The considerations could be very much embarrassing on her part and - possibly - very enjoyable on his own. Aspen couldn't risk that; not when someone actually knew what she was thinking and knew how weak she was. That was her rule. One of her very, very significant rules at that, and it was one she didn't want to break so far.

She had already been close enough to doing so.

The currently yellow green eyes - they resembled a cat's eyes vaguely - met the steady gaze of the light, silvery gray ones that belonged to Hugh Davis. A frown made it's way to her lips as he observed her thoughts and behavior. Deep in his mind, she sensed that he was searching for any case of the suicidal and depressing thoughts of hers coming back.

"Hugh," she said softly, and he frowned a little bit. "I _don't_ like fighting with you, I admit. But that doesn't mean that we'll be able to keep from bickering." A small, rueful smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "I am stubborn, aren't I?"

He rolled his eyes, and she gave a light, airy laugh.

"We are so odd; going from being tense and angry from one second to soft and vulnerable the next." Aspen said, and shook her head as she blew a large sigh from her lips.

A small thought occurred; a little want of hers.

"Hey...Hugh?"

"What?" He said, his eyebrows furrowing in curiosity as he gazed at her.

Aspen's head tilted slightly, and there was a slight sparkle in her eye as she looked at him. There was almost a silent plead in her eyes along with inquiry.

"Would you be able to get Ash for me? I need to talk to him."


	12. Turning For The Worse

Sorry for taking so long again! :( It's been sort of difficult lately for me to get a chapter out.

Hope this is okay! :)

And be happy - somewhat - because this chapter is 4,846 words! Almost 5,000!

Even if it did take forever...

Oh well...

Aspen's POV - as always :3

* * *

It took a few minutes until Aspen was able to hear the faint sound of footsteps walking toward this room; two pairs of footsteps. She supposed, at the moment, that the only reason she was able to hear the two at all was because of Hugh. He had told her that Ash had recommended it. Apparently, her _precious_ great-however many greats nephew had warned Thierry that she was...noisy.

Hugh had mentioned that it was after he had made the connection with her, and Ash had found out about them.

'_Pervert..._' She thought in irritation, and huffed as she covered her face with her hands gingerly.

The door that had frustrated her for a while from when she had first been put in the room opened, and two pairs of footsteps entered the room before the door started swinging shut. Aspen ran her hands through her curl-waves and got rid of the last few rats. She'd rather distract herself than really let Hugh get any clue of why she needed to see Ash. It was her concern; not Hugh's in anyway. Her eyes looked to the two that were most vital to her, and she pursed her lips. Hugh was looking at her curiously, but worry was vague in his light gray eyes. Ash, on the other hand, seemed a bit suspicious of her behavior.

"Hugh, I need to speak to Ash alone." She said, her voice quiet as she looked at Hugh blankly. His eyebrows furrowed, but he didn't hesitate before catching the door before it could swing back to touch the frame. "Tell me when I can come back," He said, but now Hugh was looking at Ash. He nodded at the Old Soul, and then Hugh left; the door closed softly.

"What's the problem?" Ash asked immediately, and Aspen held up one finger before concentrating on blocking her mind.

When she couldn't sense anything from Hugh, she sighed in relief.

Her eyes watched her too-many-greats nephew warily, and she frowned. "I need your help; I need to leave." She said, and his eyes widened. "Aspen - you know I can't. You know I _wo_-" "Ash," she said softly, and her voice was sad. He was quiet, and she took this as a chance to continue speaking.

"I need to leave - for Hugh's sake. Not for mine...you should be able to tell that already."

Ash stared at her, and she looked back evenly.

"_Why?_"

This was a question that she had anticipated, and she gave a rueful smile. "I don't want to kill him. He may come back sometime later, and I've already bitten him once. It was an accident then, but I honestly don't think the next time I bite him with be an accident. It's really for the better if you actually help me. You know what I'm talking about; don't you? I want to be better, but...here, I can't. My presence is a danger. I'm already beginning to be thirsty, and if he is going to be around me a lot, I don't think it would be best for me to be the way I have been all my life - a bloodthirsty monster with no regrets or restraints - around him, in particular. And don't lie, please. I know that _you_ know what I'm talking about." She said, and Ash had a flash of hurt appear on his expression before he attempted to restrain it.

Then, the pain he had so feebly tried to conceal appeared, and stayed there.

"She wanted me to think...I miss her so much...my precious Mary-Lynnette..." He said, his voice breaking a few times. Ash ran his fingers through his hair before putting a hand on his forehead. His eyes looked at her, and they were a little bit nervous, irritated and most of all, depressed. "Aspen..." He said, and a frown appeared on her face.

"Please...don't use my emotions against me..." He said, looking at her pleadingly.

She didn't give him anything; just a slightly pleading, blank look.

Ash gulped.

"It's one of the only ways I could get you to agree; don't you see it from my point of view?"

"But why so _soon_?"

That question, sadly, took Aspen off guard and her eyebrows furrowed.

"Sooner rather than later," was the only thing she said, but now she couldn't meet Ash's gaze.

"It's only been a week Aspen, and you only accepted the soulmate connection with Hugh just last night. And don't call me an idiot and a pervert; anyone who has enough experience - like per say, lack of _virginity_ - knows that you and Hugh sealed the deal last night." A shrug was all Aspen gave Ash, and he glared at her.

"You really are such a _bitch_, Aspen. After having sex with the guy, making him fall in love with you more so than he already had, you're just going to dump him off and leave? And you honestly think **that** is the best option?" He demanded, and she just shrugged again before pretending to study her nails. "Nothing new; you know I don't believe in that crap, Ash." She said airily, and could feel him concentrating on her mind. She didn't let any signs that she was lying show, and he didn't find anything that he could really use to make her eat her own words.

Next thing she knew, there was a sharp sting on her cheek and she was on the floor.

Her gasp of pain and surprise came, and she held her cheek before looking up at Ash. He was glaring down at her, and she felt some blood seeping out of shallow cuts in her cheek. It wasn't enough - but it was enough to piss her off.

"What the...?" She sputtered, wiping her hand on her cheek and looking at it. Then, erasing all anger from her expression, she wiped her hand on her jeans. The blood was even darker on her jeans; it was a familiar sight.

"You deserved that more than _anything_. How could you even think of doing that to your _soulmate_, Aspen Zylphia Redfern? Hugh loves you and you're just a cold-hearted bitch to him. You haven't changed at _a_-" Aspen kicked his leg sharply, and Ash started falling before catching himself on her bedpost. That was enough time for her to get up, and her eyes were burning in the color of magenta, to crimson, and staying in those tints. She back-handed Ash, and he stumbled before regaining balance. "Oh, and this coming from the person who _taught _me **_all_** of that?" She hissed, and he narrowed his eyes.

"I was stupid then; _I _changed. But you? No - you're just a bitch all-around." He said, and Aspen launched herself at him with a snarl.

Ash caught her by the arm, and began to swing her away before Aspen righted herself and caught him from behind - her foot catching the back of his legs. She gripped his neck as he started falling, then slammed him to the floor.

A small cry of pain came from her family member, and she glared down at him before releasing him.

"Might want to watch what you say around the person who taught you how to fight, Ash." She said in a growl, and he hissed lowly at her words. "I wouldn't consider you much of a _person_." He said, and Aspen shrugged. "You used to be exactly like me, if not worse. You have no room to talk in this situation, Ash." She said, and he huffed before starting to sit up. She kicked him sharply in the side, and he groaned as he fell back down to being on the floor. "Don't even think about it."

At that moment, the door opened. Rashel the Cat was in front, followed by Quinn, James and Hugh.

"Get _out_." Aspen hissed, seething at them all before feeling her cheek. The scratches were good as gone, only James and Quinn would know that they were there. Possibly Hugh, but she doubted it.

"What happened here?" Rashel asked, ignoring Aspen's silent threat with her harsh words. "Just telling Aspen the truth about herself." Ash managed, and Aspen got to her feet and kicked him in the side again. A small sound of pain came from him, and she huffed before sitting back down on her bed. The human that she so desperately wished to kill came closer with a _bokken_. "Don't even think about it, vermin." She spat, and Rashel narrowed her eyes at Aspen. "You know, I'm sure no one would really mind if I killed you right now with this sword, leech." Rashel snapped, the amount of venom in her voice equal to Aspen's own. "Oh my gosh, a lignum vitae play-toy; so scary." She said, her voice sarcastic and she gave a mocking sweet smile.

Rashel just glared.

"Aspen, stop antagonizing Rashel." Hugh cautioned, and her eyes narrowed at him.

"Make me, Hugh. Just _attempt_ to make me." She said coldly, and her eyes when from him back to Rashel. Her eyes had gone from the crimson-magenta tints to turquoise tints, and the silver mixing in.

Hugh raised an eyebrow.

As always, though, he was still calm as ever. No worry showed in his expression, from what she could see from the corner of her eye, and she huffed.

Damn.

Rashel wasn't taking any chances, and had the bokken still pointed toward Aspen, and a small smile played on her lips. The infuriating green-eyed human narrowed her eyes, and Quinn came over to stand behind her. He leaned forward to put his lips at her ear, and spoke very quietly. Aspen was close enough that she could hear Quinn.

"You'd better give up on her now, Rashel. She is very stubborn, and she'll fight you if you don't turn that knife away from her." Quinn breathed, and Rashel turned her head to meet his gaze for a moment. It looked like they were having a conversation - a silent one, of course. Then again, they _were _soulmates. Quinn and Rashel were probably literally having a conversation in their heads at this very moment. It didn't seem like the odds were with Quinn though, as Rashel looked back at Aspen with a glare. "I don't care," was all that came out of the vermin's mouth.

The small smile that had been on the Redfern's lips turned into a smirk.

"Quinn should know; he threatened me before - with wood - and well...I was close to leaving a scar. But then, he got away. One of his friends distracted me, and to this very day, the thing is dead. All because of Quinn. No regrets, or guilt - poor thing. It was a human, too. Had her under mind control. And drugged - that was why her blood was off." Her smirk grew as the anger did the same on Rashel's expression.

"_What_?" She snapped, and Rashel glared back and forth between Quinn and Aspen.

A small laugh came from the blond Redfern, and she ducked her head when Rashel swung at her. Then, the small laugh caused her to go into a full-out fit of laughter.

"And yet, you trust Quinn? Lovely; this is just _rich_." She said, choking back her laughs.

Ash was just now sitting up with the help of his cousin, James. A content smile came to her lips when Ash winced, and Aspen sighed, rolling her ever-changing eyes. She ran her fingers through her hair, and watched her too-many-greats nephew get up from getting attacked by her.

"Just be quiet!" Rashel snapped, clenching the wooden sword even tighter in her grip.

Raising an eyebrow, she shrugged and then started humming. She was planning on just annoying the vermin further more if she couldn't kill her.

Much better in comparison to death, she supposed.

"Aspen...really?" Ash said, glaring at her as he shook off her hits. She nodded, and hummed louder to annoy everyone else in the room. Of course, there was still that one person who was impassive to everything that she did - including this. And who might that person be? A wild guess would be right if it was Hugh Davis.

Hugh was watching Aspen, calm but slightly solemn. His light gray eyes looked at her, and she could see him pleading to speak. _Alone_. In their minds, right now.

A sigh was all she gave, and she took down her wall.

_Aspen...why are you doing this? What happened? Why did you hurt Ash?_

She was silent, but he heard her thoughts loud and clear. And it pissed him off - immensely.

_How could you _do_ that to me? You wouldn't leave, would you? WOULD YOU?_

_It would've been for the best; but there's no chance of me leaving now that you know that I was planning to. It's nothing Hugh - it's for my own personal reasons._

_And it's about me._

It wasn't a question.

_Yes._

_Why would you leave me?_

Aspen thought back to...last night. She felt like blushing, but she ignored the feeling and went to a certain part. She had bit his lip - he had bled. It had tortured her not to suck him dry - of his blood - right then and there.

At the thought of his blood, she felt her fangs start to push themselves out before she forced herself to stop.

_Because of _that_?_ Hugh demanded, and she turned her head toward him in reality, and gave him a pained look.

_Yes, because of that. I haven't fed lately, and they're not going to give me much. I'm used to killing - a lot. So, that means a lot of blood. Yours is tempting me; far too much. Leaving is the only solution I can see to prevent that from ever happening._

_No._

_Too bad._

_Aspen! Don't do it; there are a lot of ways that could remedy this problem for you._

_Like _what _Hugh?_

He winced at her outburst, and she frowned at seeing that.

_Sorry._

_It's...fine._

_Still...sorry._

_We could work this out, Aspen. You don't have to leave me..._

He sounded so sad, and it almost broke her heart. Quickly, she looked around for a resolve that could possibly still involve her leaving yet not.

Sadly, she knew she would have to stay.

"_Hugh..._" She said, in her mind and aloud as she gave him a hard look.

"Consider it." He said, not letting her dismiss the idea of leaving completely like she would've.

"_No._"

It was a heavy word, and he flinched a bit at the ringing in his ears at the loudness of it in his head.

_Please._

The pleading tone killed her - metaphorically, of course. And Hugh could feel how much it hurt her to deny him when he was being so...vulnerable. It was a rare thing that no one else had seen directly except for Aspen and Hugh, himself.

By now, everyone was looking at them curiously, or in irritation.

The irritated was only Rashel, and possibly Quinn. Aspen couldn't be sure - she was listening to Hugh and was distracted by him.

Hugh took this moment where Aspen wasn't able to fight back, and tried to convince her.

_Just think about it; you could stay here with me, and be happy. You'd be around Ash - you know he wouldn't be mad at you for too long. You could be happy here, and have a normal life and help everyone out. You could be _happy_ here, and not have to worry about too much. You could still hunt down the bad people, and help us out. Just..._

He took a deep breath, then breathed out in a large sigh as he looked at me from the doorway.

_Please._

Aspen frowned deeply, and Hugh looked at her hopefully. _Hugh..._

"Uh...whats going on?" A voice came from behind Hugh, and it was Poppy when the blond vampire looked to the doorway behind Hugh.

It didn't take Poppy long before she was grinning.

"Weird coupling." She commented, before skipping over to where James was and helping him - somewhat reluctantly - make sure that Ash was alright.

_I agree_. Aspen thought nastily, and Hugh looked at her with a hurt expression.

"You know, Hugh; I actually feel bad for you. Having Aspen in your head all day must be, and if it's not, _will_ be torture. I hope she doesn't kill you." Ash said, shooting a warning glare at Aspen. She just raised an eyebrow without saying anything.

"She won't." Hugh said, and met her gaze from across the room. A smirk came to her lips, and then she forced herself to look away.

It hurt to do that.

With a sigh, Aspen then traced imaginary lines along her wrist and shook her head. "No guarantees." She said tiredly, and then pursed her lips before pretending to scratch at something on her wrist.

_You wouldn't. _Hugh said with a final tone in her head.

_You don't KNOW me, Hugh FUCKING Davis!_ She spat in her mind, and Hugh clutched his head as he stumbled into the threshold of the doorway. Aspen was now glaring at him dangerously, her teeth bared. His eyes flashed to her face, and she met his gaze to be met with a shock.

Everything; she could see _everything_.

Her breathing stuttered and she then hissed furiously, and turned her head away from him and covered her face with her hair.

"Just leave." She whispered, dragging herself to the headboard of her bed.

"Ya right, leech. Like we're going to -" Rashel started, but then Quinn huffed. "Rashel...come on." He said, and the vermin looked at him in disbelief. "John -" He raised an eyebrow, and her jaw was then taut. "Fine." She said coldly, and then went to the doorway and left the room with Quinn on her heels.

James, Poppy, Ash, Hugh and Aspen were the only ones left now. James and Poppy steadied Ash, however opposed Poppy seemed to be about it. Aspen decided that she would ask Ash later if he would ever talk to her again without being cold about it.

"We'll leave you three to discuss your issues; and check back in later to make sure you're still alive." Poppy said, flashing a smile at the grimacing Redferns before grabbing James' hand and skipping out of the room with him right behind her.

The quiet air was tense, and the three - 2 Redfern vampires, and an Old Soul - stood still before Aspen made the first move.

"Why, Ash?" She asked, looking at her to-many-greats nephew with a soft, hurt gaze.

He looked at her in a glare, but answered her anyway in a tone that didn't have her flinching but more so feeling guilty.

"Because, I had to leave my Mary-Lynnette; it hurt both of us to do it. I'm not letting you do that, and make the same mistake that I did." He said, and she frowned.

"And you didn't even let me have a say in this." Hugh said, and Aspen now noticed that he had closed the door.

She shrugged.

"The less you know about it, the less you feel about it." She said, and Hugh looked at her in anger and disbelief. "No, Aspen - that's anything _but_ what would've happened. You know that it would've pretty much killed us both." He said sharply, and she just shrugged again.

"I've gone through pain, Hugh, and I'm sure you have too." She said plainly, and sighed. "Losing someone else that was important in my life isn't a big thing. I already suffered that two - or lets see, _three_ times. Cassius, Dad, and then Ash. One more person wouldn't rip my heart out; soulmate or not." Aspen said, playing with a strand of her hair like she did when she was was younger.

She did this when she was nervous; or trying to lie.

Ash noticed this, and gave her a look.

The truth was, losing one more person could very well be the last thing to happen to her. She was already fragile enough - emotionally, of course - and if the already gaping hole in her heart tore anymore, she would probably kill herself or something. Just to rid herself of the pain.

It was selfish; but what other choice did she have?

She was Aspen Zylphia _Redfern_ - she had every right to be selfish. Or at least, thats what she used to believe.

Being here for only a week changed so much about her already.

"I'll let you two discuss this." Ash said, glaring at Aspen before heading to the door, opening it and then slamming it behind him.

Hugh immediately came over to the bed, and sat by Aspen. "Look at me." He said softly, and she shook her head. "No." She muttered defiantly, sounding like a child. The old Aspen was chastising the now vulnerable Aspen.

'**You're so weak! Don't back down, don't let him - _belittle_ you like this!**' The old, vicious her snarled in her mind, and she shook her head.

Hugh sighed quietly, and then reached toward her. His hand stroked her cheek lightly before tracing her jaw. Then, he cupped her opposite cheek lightly with the tips of his fingers brushing lightly against her cheekbone. She didn't resist when he turned her face toward his own, and his light gray eyes met her color-changing ones. Right now her eyes were drifting back and forth between lavender hues and red hues. Hugh leaned toward her, and she shook her head slightly as she looked down. "Don't." She murmured, and he chuckled lightly. "I'm not." He said, and then he leaned his forehead against hers.

"Look at me."

This time, Aspen actually looked at him. The intensity of his gaze shocked her, and her breathing hitched again as a lump formed in her throat.

It was like he was trying to see her _soul_ - and she could feel him searching in her mind.

"Why?" He breathed, and she didn't ask what he was asking.

She knew.

"Everyone around me somehow gets hurt - and I don't want to screw up your life more than it's already messed up. You're a human, Old Soul or not. You're not supposed to be interacting with creatures that aren't human." She said softly, and she felt his lips lightly brush against hers as she spoke.

"And what if I don't care?" He wondered, and searched her eyes. His mouth quirked up into a small smile, and she felt a little smile of her own form. Hers, though, was a bit teasing and playful.

"Well, then Hugh; that's just too damn bad." She said thickly, and raised a hand. Lightly, she pushed at his shoulder. He didn't move, and instead used this time to maneuver his other arm to wrap around her and bring her into his lap.

Hugh chuckled, and then ran his thumb gently across her cheek. "Well, then you might want to rethink your plans, Aspen. Because I honestly don't care." He said, and she could hear and see he meant it.

All of the sudden, she was angry.

How dare he want to mess up his life for _her_? Was he stupid?

"How many times must you ask that, Aspen? No, I'm not stupid. And you wouldn't think I was either if you knew how long I've wanted to find something like...this." He said, and brushed his lips lightly along her cheek bone.

Little bits of electricity ran through her, and she closed her eyes tightly. "Fine, you're not stupid. But you are definitely stubborn. Does my dear Jezebel Redfern know that you're the exact opposite of what you appear? Because, you're not really the perfect little angel. You're stubborn, sarcastic, more so a smartass - I would say, and _very_ impatient. Oh, and persistent. And seductive, and let's not forget using that to an advantage when possible. On me, of course, but it's still the same." She said, and felt his kiss her eyelids gently.

"No; only you know that I'm like this, really. Ash got a small dose of my impatience." Hugh said, and Aspen felt his warm breath against her skin - on her cheek, near her lips - before _his_ lips were placed there. He was very close to kissing her.

She was quiet as he gently kissed her features; her forehead, her cheekbones, her jaw. It went on before she sighed. "Hugh -" She started before he actually moved his lips to hers. Her speaking had caused the slight brush of his lips against hers to actually be a kiss.

Pulling back a bit, she opened her eyes and looked at him.

"I'm sorry." Aspen said sincerely, and he knew what for. For all the trouble she had caused; and that she wasn't changing her mind.

Hugh looked at her somberly, and then sighed.

"Why?" He said, asking her why she wasn't changing her mind silently in their conjoined thoughts.

She didn't answer with anything but a shrug.

Hugh huffed, and then shook his head as he got up. "Just talk to me when you think different." He muttered, hurt, as he turned and went toward the door.

Aspen remained silent as he opened the door, and then slammed it behind him.

As soon as it was closed, she felt the lump restrain her breaths as she hyperventilated. It wasn't until a few minutes later that she realized that she wasn't hyperventilating; she was sobbing while holding back tears.

At that, tears came from her eyes and she just curled up in a ball.

If Hugh wanted her to keep to that, then she probably wouldn't be talking to him anytime soon - if it was ever.

* * *

_Aww...I can't believe I made Aspen cry :'( And sha...sorry if this sucks and its like...a month late xD_

_I just had issues and had to deal...and school sucks x.x_

_Hope it was good enough :)  
_


	13. The Need To Try

**Sorry for having this be so late - I've just been having major issues. And I was torn over what to do in this chapter. Don't be surprised if it sucks D:**

**Don't kill me!**

* * *

Aspen didn't know how long she was there, just curled up in a ball and wallowing in her sorrows. It felt like an eternity - which was what she would have to face considering she had decided not to age a month or so back. Or at least she thought so...she _hoped_ so.

This consideration corrupted her depressing thoughts and drove them away for a while.

But the mere thing of whether she had stopped aging or not wasn't really that interesting to keep her undivided attention for long. Not like her depression and longing for Hugh did - that was always there. Just when she thought it was gone, it would come back and bite her on the ass. Her throat had a lump in it, and she hyperventilated to keep dry sobs from coming. The quick, sharp breaths that were coming from her were almost worse than the sobs, though. It calmed her in the slightest - unlike the sobs that wanted to come. Her eyes were a dull silver, and the shine from her eyes seemed in the slightest dull.

It killed her inside to know that Hugh probably hated her.

It would be a shock if he didn't.

Her heart seemed to clench and then release, then clench even tighter the next time around. It hurt, knowing that there was a strong possibility that her soulmate could hate her.

Why couldn't he just get the blindfold off of his eyes and see that she was trying to _help_ him, of all things. Aspen wasn't doing this just to hurt him, but to help him. Her being around could cause major trouble - she didn't want him in any more danger than he already was.

Simple.

Honestly, was it _that_ hard to understand her reasoning? She was Aspen Zylphia Redfern - she was a direct line from Maya herself from her son, Red Fern. He's the one who started the whole entire Redfern family. He's the base of it, and Aspen was a stem that was almost more pure than any other. She was known throughout the Night World, and was known as a criminal, a liability, a menace and to some, a symbol. She had been one of the more proper Night World citizens, in how she was raised to think humans were below herself and any other Night person.

Now...here she was, trying to _protect_ a human and _Circle Daybreak_.

Was she a traitor?

There was no doubt about it.

Was she a danger now, if anyone found out about her turning over to the...**other** side?

Definitely.

But, was she even allowed to _attempt_ to protect this side?

Hell to the _NO_.

These Damned Daybreakers had been smart so far, but now what they were doing - keeping her and refusing to let her leave - was very, very stupid. Aspen wouldn't allow herself to stay here if she were them.

Of course, they cared about Hugh greatly. She could see that.

So what if he got a little heartache?

At least he would _live_.

Did anyone even care about what Aspen wanted? If they did, then they would definitely let her leave. Or not, but still...she didn't get why _Ash_ even disagreed about it. Sure, he had gone through something similar, but Aspen was...less vulnerable at the moment. Or at least, she was trying to convince herself that she was. Sure, leaving Hugh would hurt...but really? A little bit of hurt wouldn't kill her...most likely.

She's suffered worse.

Seeing her mother die; seeing a close comrade die because of her mistake; and yet, here she was trying to get the guts to convince herself completely that she could leave a human that was her soulmate forever.

'_Forever..._' Her mind echoed, and there was a dull pain with the word.

Forever was a long time.

Aspen felt a lump in her throat at the thought of leaving Hugh forever - she didn't think she could handle that. At that thought, she felt pathetic.

'_Get it together, can't let this get to me...I probably won't be able to leave anyway._' She thought desperately, and her ego was ashamed to feel the relief and joy at not having to leave. Not being _able_ to leave, actually.

Pathetic - that's what she was now.

Her thoughts went haywire and she hit her head on her knees. How was she going to survive any of this? Along with being locked up in a room, if she was let out she wouldn't be able to leave the house. This would be...terrible.

It would be hell.

She sighed, and then got up and began to pace. Her feet took her from the blocked windows, to one of the posts of her bed, to the dresser, and then to the door that led out of the room. Aspen gazed at it in longing, and then shook her head before beginning to pace again. Her thoughts wandered to something lethal to herself...then she realized something.

Her bed.

Of _course_. The bed...the posts...the supports for the mattress.

A grin came to her lips.

*** * * A while later * * ***

Aspen looked at the sharp piece of wood, and ran it along the floor of the room. She sighed in content, seeing the sharpened edge she had worked on and made all by herself.

"Lovely," she murmured, running her fingers gently along the weapon.

Then, her ever-changing eyes looked around herself. She was currently seated against the board opposite the headboard on the ground, in front of the bed. Around her, there were chunks and slivers of wood that had been pulverized by the metal cylinder she had found in the closet. It was supposed to hold hangers, and clothes, but Aspen believed she had put the piece of metal to a better use than holding cloth. She had broke the metal cylinder in half - making a sharp edge that could impale a human easier than a knife could go through butter - and used the sharp edge to sharpen the wood.

Her eyes stared at the wooden knife, and she slowed her tracing upon the floor with said item.

If things got to the worse, she would use it.

For what seemed like the first time in her life, she was glad that she could be killed by such a weak - to everything and mostly everyone else, that is - material.

Aspen sighed, and ran her fingers along the wood again before biting her lower lip.

This felt like betrayal.

Cassius had died because of her - _for_ her. And now, by doing this or merely considering it, she was as good as betraying Hugh as well. This had to be worse though - betraying her soulmate.

A double-betrayal, then. Thats what this was.

At that moment, the door cracked open and she glanced up quickly before looking around herself in a slight panic. She was definitely screwed; no matter who that was. Hell, even if it was Rashel - she has strict orders not to kill Aspen and it seems like she's friends with Hugh in a way.

The blond Redfern sensed who it was, but it didn't calm her. No, it made this all worse for her right now.

Hugh's gray eyes widened at the sight before him, and he quickly slipped in and closed the door behind him. His eyes stared at Aspen in disbelief, while the vampire he was almost glaring at gave him an apprehensive look before turning back to the sharp, _wooden_ knife in her hand. She stroked it lightly - reminding him of a past event that made him want to blush - and he shook his head before hurrying the few steps and crouching in front of the Redfern. Aspen didn't look up, so Hugh reached forward and caught her wrist as she moved her hand to the sharp tip of the makeshift knife.

"Aspen..." He whispered, his previous annoyance lost. His voice sounded hurt, and Aspen felt even worse.

She gulped, and avoided his gaze by staring at the tip of the wooden knife she had crafted.

"Why?"

Hugh's voice was soft, and she couldn't resist looking up at him. Her eyes showed a slight apology, but still held strong on her reasoning.

"In case I needed it - for myself, you see." She said, giving a masochistic smile.

The Old Soul's eyes went from gentle to angry, disbelieving, hurt.

His hands went to her shoulders, and clenched there. He shook her lightly, staring into her eyes with anger, betrayal...he couldn't understand what she was saying. His mind wouldn't bare the painful thought that she was actually speaking of what he thought she was.

Then, he lost the fire and his grip on her shoulders loosened, and his hands slid down to her forearms. He went from a crouch to being on his knees. His head rested on her shoulder - falling forward onto her shoulder, and he breathed in her scent.

"You're so stupid, Aspen." He breathed, and she stiffened. "You don't _need_ that...thing." He muttered, shaking his head.

She shrugged, but didn't shove him off. Hugh took this as a good thing.

"Let's get to picking up the wood shards -" He changed his mind and shook his head. "On second thought, _I'll_ pick them up." He said, and Aspen watched as he took a minute before taking his head from her shoulder, and dropping his hands from her arms. She felt cold now, without his touch, but didn't show it. Hugh seemed to know, anyways - for he gave her an apologetic smile before getting from his knees to being back in a crouch. He stood up completely and went to where some remains of the wooden post were and he began picking them up with care.

Aspen leaned her head back against the board at the end of the bed, and closed her eyes.

She listened to Hugh quietly working, before she heard something. Something different from him.

An unbearable smell came with it, and her eyes came open.

They looked to Hugh, who had had a long piece of wood twist in his palm and scrape his wrist. The scrape was shallow, but it was still deep enough that he was bleeding.

Aspen stiffened, and leaned away from his direction.

Hugh, who had glanced at her, looked down at his wrist before seeming to think of something. Aspen could visualize it in her head, and she started shaking her head as he started toward her with his bleeding wrist. "Hugh -" She started, her voice hoarse and she cleared her throat as he came closer.

Then, he reached out his arm that had the bleeding wrist.

How stupid could he get.

Aspen hadn't drank blood for days, and yet here he was...offering her his own? Was he not aware that she could murder him without a second thought?

_Oh, I'm aware. But, I think that you may have a little more control if it's me you're taking it from._ Hugh sent to her, and before she could send a reply back, he had placed his wrist at her lips.

It was too late to go back now with the blood so close.

Her hand caught his arms and she leaned forward. Her mouth opened, and she sank her now-ready fangs into his skin. It didn't seemed to hurt Hugh, not that she cared.

Blood filled her mouth, and she drank it.

Everything was white, then, and she felt confused.

Then, she realized what was happening.

'_This bond is getting closer and closer between us, and soon it's going to hurt us,_' she thought, and gripped his wrist tighter when she felt her grip loosening.

Hugh took her hands away from his arm, and pulled his arm away from her mouth. The white started to fade before Hugh came closer, and then guided her head toward his throat. Aspen - at the moment - didn't care and was almost greedy in the manner that she did this. With slight care, she brought her hands to his face, and tilted his chin back lightly, being somewhat gentle, before leaning closer to his throat and feeling her fangs indenting her lower lip. She opened her mouth, and sank her fangs into his pulse point.

The bright white place came back, and she was launched into their conjoined minds again.

_It doesn't hurt,_ Hugh sent to her, answering her yet-to-be phrased question. Aspen came closer to him, in both mind and body, and reveled in the warmth that he provided likewise in both places. The reality and the mind were completely different while being one in the same, and it comforted her.

She felt Hugh's arms wrap around her to hold her closer in reality, while it warmed even more so in mind with a good amount of light given as well.

_Why...why would you do this? Why are you offering up your blood when I could easily kill you? _Aspen questioned, awe and guilt filling her. She didn't deserve this.

_Because I know you won't kill me - you won't hurt me of your own will._

Her form stiffened and Hugh clutched her closer, and one of his hands held her head at his throat. She was still drinking his blood, but now she just wanted to stop. Aspen felt sick with herself for drinking Hugh's blood.

_Don't_.

His thought was soft, and the hand that had been holding her head slid down and rubbed her back a bit to assure her.

_I...I'm repulsive. I can't believe I'm doing this. Hugh...please. Don't make me do this. I made that wooden stake for a reason; for a purpose. This is only driving me toward it further. Please...I don't..._want_ this. I don't want to drink your blood. Please...I beg you..._

Aspen felt horrified, terrified, and she felt the heavy weight of guilt that made her feel like she was tinkering on the edge of a cliff and death.

Hugh's hold on her loosened, and she immediately took herself away from him. Her fangs were still showing, and her eyes were looking at him in worry as he blinked a few times - he seemed exhausted. She must have taken too much blood from him...and not even noticed.

"You're an idiotic fool, Hugh Davis." She whispered, leaning her head against his chest. He chuckled breathlessly, and played with some of her hair.

_But I'm your idiotic fool, Aspen Redfern._ He thought, and she sighed as she leaned into him.

"I'm never doing that again - I'd rather drink a cold blood bag than your blood...I don't think it would help either of us if you died and I was the reason you had gotten killed." She said, her voice unable to go above a whisper. She licked her lips, and closed her eyes as she made her animal mind calm and believe that feeding time was over.

Her fangs retracted, and she sighed in relief.

She turned her head and kissed Hugh's jaw.

Hugh had only a sarcastic silence, and Aspen sighed as she felt his arms wrap around her and she was pulled as close as was possible for the moment to him. A small, little smile came to her lips.

"Everything is quite odd compared to earlier, huh?" She murmured, breathing in his scent.

He kissed the top of her head, and then moved his lips to her forehead. "Very queer compared to earlier." He mumbled against her forehead before kissing it. She laughed silently and then turned her head and tucked it into the crook of his neck. Hugh kissed her cheekbone, and then just rested his head on top of hers.

They were quiet for a moment or so before Aspen found it in herself to break the warm silence with a question she much needed answer - mentally and verbally.

"Hugh?" She whispered, and his voice was gentle as he answered her.

"What?"

She gulped and Hugh turned his head to kiss the top of her own and she found it easy, then, to ask him her question.

"Why do we...fight so much? And then everything is fine afterward, but then when we fight again, everything gets worse..." Her voice refused to go above a murmur and Hugh sighed as he rubbed her arm a little in a soothing way. She lost the tension that had been in her and Hugh answered her after a moment of silence. "Because we're opposites, Aspen. Because we're the same, as well. We just have a hard time accepting each other fully and keep fighting over things that wouldn't really be of any concern to anyone else besides just us. We both are stubborn...and we both care too much for each other." He said, and Aspen gulped at that. Sure, she hadn't _wanted_ to admit that she cared for him deeply - already - but he was right. They did care for each other a lot and she sighed, and nuzzled the crook of his neck gently.

"I don't like fighting, Hugh." She breathed, and Hugh nodded a little.

"Neither do I, love." He said, and she bit her lower lip before nodding a little herself.

"What do we do about it?" She asked, and Hugh answered her mentally this time instead of being verbal about his answer.

_I don't know if we _can_ do anything about it, Aspen. We can try, but that may just make matters worse and have us fighting more and...I don't know if I want to risk that._

Aspen shook her head a little, and spoke in a whisper.

"We need to try, Hugh."

* * *

**I am SOO sorry that this took so long but I could only write when I had muse and it didn't always occur in the time-frame that I wished it to. I hope this is okay and I'm sorry if it sucks :(**

**I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can, but there are no guarantees with that.**

**Sorry guys! I'll try - just like Aspen and Hugh :)  
**


	14. Please Read - Story Update

I'm going to make this quick note as an update on this story.

I apologize as strongly as I can for not having updated this story in so long, and I am going to try and finish it, but before I finish it, I'm going to go back and fix a few things.

I've made some characters OOC, and I'm going to attempt to fix that to the best of my ability, along with correcting little errors that drove me insane when I read through them. After I get all of these fixes taken care of, I will start on a new chapter, and hope for the best. Once I get started on the new chapter, I'll try to finish it quickly. My goal for the new chapter is for it to be up before the end of April, and I really hope I can stick by that.

Thanks for those who have stuck with the story, given reviews, and I still apologize profusely for not getting back to this story. It was reading the reviews and reading over the story today that really gave me this inspiration.

Expect a new chapter by the end of April at the latest!

_- Torri_


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